On the fourth day of defending the city, before dawn had broken.
Zhu Yu and Chai Xiaomi finished counting all the surviving children in the city, leading them one by one to the well.
"Don't be afraid, there's someone to catch you down below," Chai Xiaomi said softly, lifting a child and carefully lowering them into the well.
The young women down in the well were already in position, reaching up to receive each child steadily.
The last one was Zhu Yu. She clung to the edge of the well, not in a hurry to climb down, and instead looked up at Chai Xiaomi.
"When the war is over, come find me. I'll make you the manager of a shop!"
Chai Xiaomi smiled and nodded. "Alright."
She knew that Zhu Yu and those young women were nothing more than a small variable brought about by the butterfly effect. Once the barbarians were driven back, everything would return to normal.
This would likely be their last meeting.
Seeing Chai Xiaomi's red-rimmed eyes, Zhu Yu gripped her hand tightly, knuckles turning white. "In war, weapons have no eyes. Since you've made up your mind to stay in the city, I won't try to persuade you otherwise. No matter what, you must live well—you absolutely must survive!"
Chai Xiaomi was taken aback, then laughed out loud. "Don't worry—it's not that easy to die. When I was little, my mother had a fortune teller read my fate. He said at the very least, I'd live to be eighty-eight. He said my fate was tough—even the King of Hell would take a detour around me."
Zhu Yu laughed despite herself. Finally she let go of her hand and slipped down into the well.
The moment darkness swallowed her, Chai Xiaomi was about to turn away when she suddenly heard a childish voice from the bottom of the well: "Oh, sister! I forgot to tell you a secret!"
It was the best-behaved little girl, whose pet name was Yaya.
Chai Xiaomi leaned closer to the well. "What secret is that?"
"That older brother, you know—a couple days ago, while you were asleep, he sneaked over to see you several times," Yaya's voice was soft and milky. "He even covered you with a blanket and tidied your hair, just like my mother used to do for me. So I'm guessing he must not be mad at you at all."
As soon as the words fell, sounds of teasing rose from below:
"Ooooh~ so that young gentleman throws little tantrums, does he?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a shame—we didn't get a chance to catch another glimpse of Xiaomi's husband. That one fleeting look back at the Huan Yin Pavilion, and I've been longing for it ever since!"
"Right, right! That face, that figure—my whole life I've never seen another like it!"
"Xiaomi, you'd better keep a tight hold on him. When the war's over, bring him out so we sisters can feast our eyes again!"
The women chattered and teased, their laughter rising muffled from the well, yet crisp and bright.
Their old habit of joking around hadn't changed one bit.
As Chai Xiaomi listened, she drifted back as if to the days of the Huan Yin Pavilion—those chattering afternoons, those playful winks and nudges, those women who, despite their own hardships, could still laugh without a care.
She wiped her tears, leaned down, and called into the well, "Alright, alright—don't waste time. You'd better go now! Safe travels!"
"Xiaomi, you take care too!"
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
She stood by the well, speaking softly: "Run, girls. The road ahead is wide. May you run into the people you want to become. May everything go your way. Goodbye forever."
The attacks from the beasts grew more frequent, crashing against Lu City's barrier like relentless waves.
The light shield hovering above the city was riddled with fine cracks but stubbornly held on to its last trace of wholeness.
Looking up at the tottering yet unbroken barrier, the barbarians' eyes grew more impatient.
They knew too well: the beasts beside them, temporarily driven by their commands, had long since filled their nostrils with the scent of blood and flesh. If they didn't let them breach the city and feed soon, once the fire of hunger completely burned through the thin thread of control, these red-eyed monsters would tear their masters apart first.
On a distant high tower, Wu Li stood in deep concentration, exerting every ounce of his power to reinforce the barrier.
He had no time to be distracted. Sweat beaded on his brow, yet even so, the cracks in the light shield continued to spread and deepen visibly, like a dense spiderweb.
Between the barbarians' artillery and the insane assault of over a thousand beasts, this barrier—holding on until now—had already reached its limit.
The soldiers on the city walls gradually stopped their attacks. They saw that all the beasts, as if following a signal, had converged on the deepest crack in the barrier, wildly biting and ramming it.
"Commander! At this rate, this last shield won't hold much longer!"
Song Yueyao's face was somber. In her eyes, she saw the layers upon layers of raging beast shadows in the distance. She knew clearly that this was a matter of life and death.
That Wu Li had managed to defend the city until now with his newly learned barrier techniques wasn't because of divine power—he was, after all, human, not a god. The reason he had exerted himself so tirelessly to protect this city was simply because Xiaomi was in it.
Besides, he could not recklessly commit slaughter now. Even if he were to go all out, a few beasts would be no trouble. But now he faced over a thousand.
She took a deep breath, issuing the order with a heavy voice: "Everyone, grip your weapons tight. Be ready—at any moment—to fight the barbarians and those beasts to the death!"
The moment the words left her mouth—
A sharp, dull sound rang out from the barrier's wall. The crack under concentrated assault deepened further, white light pouring out through the gaps and scattering.
Chai Xiaomi moved among the wounded, handing each one a weapon as they asked. Most of the injured could barely move; some lay there, unable even to sit up, yet still gripped their sword hilts, their eyes burning with their last spark of life.
An old soldier took the weapon and suddenly asked, "Xiaomi, why didn't you slip away with the other women and children through the secret tunnel?"
"Uncle, tell me—why have you never thought of escaping through the tunnel? There was a soldier who ran, after all."
The old soldier spat. "That deserter? He wasn't a real soldier at all. He was never part of General Nie's army. A true soldier of General Nie's—even with only one breath left—would never retreat half a step. The Commander said, 'The city stands, I stand; the city falls, I fall.' We swear to live and die together!"
"Well then," Chai Xiaomi said, beaming, her eyes curving into crescent moons, "your Commander is my best friend. She stays, I stay; she dies—"
She suddenly stopped, waving her hands frantically. "Ptoo, ptoo! Careful with my words. Let's say something auspicious—she will never die!"
The old soldier laughed at her. He couldn't believe that even at a time like this, the girl could still be so cheerful.
After his laughter faded, he still urged her kindly, "You're a young woman, and you're quite beautiful. For us men, if we can't fight back, death is all we face. But in war, the worst fate always falls on women—especially if they fall into those barbarian dogs' hands. They'd wish for death but be unable to die. So you'd better run while you can."
"Don't worry, Uncle." Chai Xiaomi lifted her head, pointing to the tall tower in the distance where a figure stood, her eyes shining with certainty. "With my husband here, he would never let anything happen to me."
"Besides," she said, eyes brightening, "I've already sent a falcon message to summon reinforcements."
Chai Xiaomi's gaze was luminous as she looked at the barrier about to shatter, offering a silent prayer.
The little red serpent slithered up from her ankle onto her shoulder, now under its master's command, keeping watch over her every second.
The barrier was about to break, and he had to be ready to fight at any moment.
"Reinforcements?" the veteran soldier asked in confusion.
Just then.
Boom—!
A thunderous roar shook the city. A massive rift suddenly tore open in the barrier, and a ferocious Qiongqi beast slammed through!
Its blood-red predator's eyes swept the area, then it charged straight toward the cluster of wounded.
"Xiaomi!"
On the city wall, Song Yueyao screamed in desperation, but the moment her voice fell, the Qiongqi froze mid-motion.
Its colossal body hung suspended in the air, as if bound by invisible chains, utterly unable to move.
Atop the tower spire, a young man held a single hand seal, struggling to block the rift in the barrier, while his other hand covertly cast a Gu spell, forcibly restraining the Qiongqi.
He wielded celestial arts and Gu magic simultaneously, the two techniques tearing at his mind from within. Demonic beasts battered against the gap, vying to break through, while the trapped Qiongqi roared and thrashed with fury. Beads of sweat trickled from his brow—drop after drop.
Chai Xiaomi watched, her heart tightening.
The Qiongqi fought more violently, moments away from breaking free.
She gritted her teeth, rushed forward, yanked a handful of realgar powder from her clothes, and flung it hard into the beast's face!
This was what Wu Li had given her in the armory for emergencies.
The realgar invaded its nostrils. The Qiongqi shuddered violently, its vicious snarl caught in its throat, its struggles instantly freezing.
"Red Flood Dragon, now! Entangle it!"
The Red Flood Dragon shot forth on command, its serpentine body elongating dozens of times in an instant. Without the boost of baleful aura, its attacking power was weaker than before, but it was more than enough to tie down the savage beast.
Wu Li let out a silent sigh of relief. He then turned his focus to the glowing light in his palm, striving to repair the ever-widening breach. Days of relentless energy drain had brought him to his breaking point; the light flickered dimly, on the verge of sputtering out.
Suddenly, two brighter beams of light plunged down from the heavens, merging precisely into his radiance. The gap was sealed firmly!
"Old Ji—!"
"Brother Yu—!"
Chai Xiaomi looked up and waved, her eyes blazing with brilliance.
High in the sky, a massive falcon circled down, its back bearing two familiar silhouettes.
The reinforcements had finally arrived!
