At that moment, Yun Chengxuan noticed Luo Qingci was also present. He looked at the food in his own hands, reluctantly suppressed his craving, and asked out of politeness, "Do you want me to share a drumstick and a chicken butt with you?"
Luo Qingci replied, "...No, thanks."
Jiang Jin felt a headache coming on. "Wait, you—why are you roasting it yourself? Can't you just let Liqiu make it for you?"
Yun Chengxuan was a glutton, but he wasn't very skilled at cooking, and he often messed up—like right now, with these two blackened lumps of food.
Yun Chengxuan didn't see the problem at all. "I think I roasted it pretty well, Aunt. Please, have a taste."
Jiang Jin pursed her lips and smiled warmly. "Chengxuan, dear, Xiaohong really loves this kind of thing, so I'll give my portion to Xiaohong."
She would be taking action tonight, and if she ate this thing, she might end up with an upset stomach...
Remembering that Yun Chengxuan was also participating in the operation tonight, she advised, "You should give this portion to April too. After April eats this—well, it'll definitely make him even more formidable."
Yun Chengxuan's eyes lit up. "Can he grow wings and fly like the chickens?"
Jiang Jin replied, "...Probably not."
Yun Chengxuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "If he can't fly, forget it. I'll just eat it myself. Aunt, you have some too."
Jiang Jin handed the 'chicken' back to Yun Chengxuan. "Chengxuan, you're still growing up. You eat it. Auntie isn't hungry."
Better him than me—she trusted that her nephew's stomach was tougher.
Yun Chengxuan took it, touched by her kindness. "Aunt, you're so good to me. I'll definitely take care of you until your old age."
Jiang Jin: "..."
Luo Qingci couldn't help but let out a 'pfft' laugh. Seeing Jiang Jin and the other both look at her, she quickly suppressed her smile and said seriously, "I'm going out to handle some matters."
With that, she hurried away.
Twilight fell.
Tonight, like many others, was a moonless night. The world was pitch-black, except for the crimson, blood-like glow of burning corpses.
The Quzhao army camp, wary of becoming a target, also lit no torches, leaving everything engulfed in darkness—so much so that even the outlines of the tents were indistinct.
Jiang Jin stood on a hillside, binoculars in hand, watching with a cold expression as the Quzhao camp was heavily guarded. Apart from the perimeter sentries, over a dozen patrol teams constantly moved through the camp.
Dozens of guards stood on a small hill behind the camp; the path leading from the camp to that hill fell under their responsibility.
In the darkness of the night, they could barely see each other, let alone anything farther away.
Despite this, they remained highly vigilant, saying nothing and fighting no drowsiness, straining their ears for the slightest sound around them.
The September night carried a slight chill. There was no sound at all around them—so quiet they could hear each other's breaths, as well as the footsteps of the passing patrols.
Jiang Jin checked her pocket watch. "Move out!"
From the other three directions, Zhou Sui, Yao Ji, and Xia Chanyi almost simultaneously ordered, "Move out!"
The soldiers' eyes widened sharply. In the distance, sparks seemed to flicker—a firelight that felt eerily familiar.
Thump, thump, thump...
Flaming arrows flew over their heads, landing on the tents behind them.
The tents were made of cloth, hardly fireproof, and the oil on the arrows splattered onto the material, igniting instantly!
Dozens of tents caught fire at almost the same moment. In a flash, the flames spread like wildfire, roaring into the sky, followed by screams of terror.
The night-watch soldiers shouted in alarm, "Enemy attack..."
Dozens of arrows shot through the air, embedding themselves into their necks. Blood spurted out, adding a chill to the night.
Nearby patrol soldiers yelled, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
While shouting, they sprinted toward the nearest fire. Soldiers armed with bows fired blindly in the direction the flaming arrows had come from, throwing the camp into chaos.
Similar chaos erupted in the other three directions, with the sounds of combat soon rising.
Watching the Quzhao army camp erupting in roaring flames and utter disorder, Jiang Jin raised her hand. "Charge!"
Behind her, Yun Chengxuan and Shuangjiang led soldiers as they swiftly entered the Quzhao camp, immediately engaging the nearest patrol team. In an instant, the camp echoed with shrill screams.
Jiang Jin herself stood in the back, wielding a Crossbow, leading her archers to fire bolts and arrows continuously at the Quzhao soldiers emerging from nearby tents, as well as the patrol soldiers racing toward them from a distance.
Qu Bai suddenly opened his eyes and sat upright. His heart had been heavy all along, a persistent unease nagging at him. It wasn't until the dead of night, with still no movement from the Jinyang Army, that he relaxed slightly, telling himself he had been overthinking.
But cautious as he was, he had not removed his armor. The moment he closed his eyes for a doze, the screams erupted.
He grabbed his long saber, which was lying beside him, and strode out in big steps.
At that moment, the tent flap was pushed open from outside, and Qu Cong hurriedly stepped in. "General, the Jinyang Army is attacking by night! We're surrounded on all four sides."
"How many enemy soldiers?" Qu Bai's voice was unhurried, though his movements were swift as he walked out of the tent.
Qu Cong followed behind him. "We don’t know—they’re too fast. Our troops have suffered heavy casualties."
It was the fourth watch of the night, the time when people were most exhausted. Though war demanded constant vigilance, soldiers still needed rest.
The Jinyang Army chose this exact time for their raid. The men were still in a daze when the tents were set ablaze.
Still, Qu Bai had shown foresight by increasing the number of patrol soldiers, buying the resting troops within the tents precious moments to react.
But even so, facing the repeating crossbows crack troops of the Jinyang Army, many soldiers were cut down barely after leaving their tents.
Some soldiers, struck by flaming arrows, turned into 'human torches' and ran wildly, causing even more chaos.
Around Qu Bai's tent, the area had already become a sea of fire and smoke.
Cries of panic, shouts for help, the neighing of horses, and the clash of battle mingled together, forming a scene of hell on earth.
"Quickly, send the third and fourth battalions to reinforce," Qu Bai swiftly commanded.
The third and fourth battalions were the soldiers guarding his tent, his personal guards—over a thousand men.
Qu Cong shouted in desperation, "It’s too late, General! We must retreat!"
Qu Bai's heart clenched in shock. The fire and smoke were spreading toward his position, and fiery arrows kept landing in his area, though his guards intercepted them.
But given the situation, this area would be lost soon.
Just then, Yan Pu ran over with several hundred soldiers. "Bad news, General! We’re surrounded! The Jinyang Army has thousands of men. We must break out immediately!"
Qu Bai gritted his teeth, knowing the tide had turned against him. With deep reluctance, he shouted, "Ma Heng, go and burn the grain supplies. Then we retreat!"
They had marched hastily, and each soldier carried only two days' worth of food. The grain currently in the camp had only been transferred from Donghu County the day before.
Though not much—just over a thousand shi, enough for the entire army's needs for a few days—not a single grain must fall into Jinyang Army hands!
Ma Heng boomed his reply, "Understood!"
With that, he led over a hundred soldiers toward the tent where grain was stored.
Like Lei Qian, he was one of the fierce generals assigned by the Grand General to assist Qu Bai—a powerful fighter.
Qu Bai mounted his horse and swiftly chose a direction to make his break.
Yan Pu gritted his teeth, leading men in another direction where defenses seemed thinner. As the Han saying went, you don't put all your eggs in one basket.
The camp, with just over twenty thousand people, was not large. Soon Qu Bai had sprinted to its periphery. The surrounding flames raged fiercely, their crimson glow casting upon his face, turning his shadowed eyes a bloodshot red.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
Dozens of arrows flew toward him. He deflected them with his blade and spurred his horse onward, galloping ahead.
Suddenly, an intense sense of danger struck him, setting off frantic alarm bells in his mind. A gust of wind came from behind, and his body instinctively shifted to the side.
An arrow grazed his neck, tearing away a strip of flesh.
