On a mountain outside Lin County, a new grave had been raised, with a stone tablet standing atop it, yet nothing was inscribed upon it.
Beside the new grave were several other mounds, old and new, their tablets likewise blank.
These were the brothers who had once followed Luo Lan.
Xia Chanyi and Ji Xin stood before the graves, facing each other in silence.
"Lady Xia, thank you," Ji Xin said, his voice low and hoarse.
Xia Chanyi shook her head. "No need for courtesy. How are your wounds?"
Ji Xin shook his head. "Nothing serious—just a knife wound to the shoulder, a flesh wound. It's only that..."
Only that Li Qian had been hurt worse, stabbed in the thigh, and would need considerable time to recover. Fortunately, it hadn't struck anything vital.
That was also why he hadn't been able to come watch Luo Lan's burial today.
Xia Chanyi knew he was worried about Li Qian, and reassured him: "I asked the physician. His leg isn't a major problem. He just needs proper rest."
Ji Xin let out a soft "Mm," and looked at the new grave with complicated eyes.
Xia Chanyi turned to glance at Ji Xin. "What are your plans from here?"
Ji Xin seemed a little lost. "Plans? I don't know either."
Xia Chanyi thought for a moment, then said, "Perhaps joining the army wouldn't be a bad choice."
Ji Xin hung his head, and after a long pause asked, "What kind of army is the Jinyang Army?"
Xia Chanyi smiled. "Didn't you already see for yourself?"
"Anyway, I've pledged my life to my lord. I'm willing to follow her, to the death, without regret." Her tone was firm.
Ji Xin looked at her. "How do you know she'll make it to the end?"
Xia Chanyi shook her head. "I don't know. I'm willing to follow her not because I'm sure she'll win, but because of what she does—she makes me feel that she's worth it!"
"Even if she doesn't win, I'd still follow her, clearing the road ahead of her, shielding her from the blades coming from all sides, standing as one of those who support her."
"And besides—" she smiled with confidence. "If there's anyone in this world who can bring peace to these turbulent times, that person will surely be my lord!"
Ji Xin was stunned.
He couldn't help but recall how, when they were first rescued from prison, Xia Chanyi had simply run off.
Luo Lan had said at the time, "Perhaps she thinks I'm not worthy."
Not worthy?
Compared to this, indeed, he was not worthy.
In just a few days, he had witnessed with his own eyes how Lin County had come back to life from being a "dead city."
Under Luo Lan's leadership, they had indeed killed many of Qu Zhao's soldiers, but they had also killed many Han civilians, and had snuffed out the hopes of every common person who had entered that city.
What Luo Lan brought to that city was "death," while what Jiang Jin brought was "life."
Turning toward the light to live—that is hope!
For some reason, he felt a lump in his throat. He lowered his head and asked, "Back then, why didn't you let us follow you? Was it because you thought we weren't worthy?"
Xia Chanyi shook her head. "You called Luo Lan 'big brother.' You should understand him. Back then, even if I'd asked, would he have come with me?"
Ji Xin fell silent. Yes, how could Luo Lan have left?
If they'd wanted to leave, they could have fled the moment they got out of prison. With their abilities, slipping out of the city amid the chaos would have been entirely possible.
But Luo Lan hadn't left. Instead, he rallied the Han people, killed the Qu Zhao soldiers, and took over Lin County.
Xia Chanyi patted his shoulder. "Go on back. Think it over properly—the matter of joining the army."
Hua Ruo was leading a squad on patrol through the streets of Lin County.
Her bravery in battle had been outstanding, and she had been promoted directly to squad leader.
Though she only commanded a little over ten people, she was both satisfied and excited. This was the first time she had openly fought as a woman, killed enemies, earned military merit, and been promoted.
She believed this was only her starting point.
Passing by the general store, she saw a crowd packed around it.
The shop had reopened a few days earlier, and the mismatched old and new colors of its tiles and walls showed that much of the building had been repaired.
At that moment, the shop was surrounded by people, the shopkeeper inside was run off his feet, and a few Jinyang soldiers were maintaining order.
"Line up, line up! Don't push. Push again and you're out."
"Everyone, take it easy. The store has plenty of grain. No need to fight."
With the soldiers shouting orders, the crowd quickly formed a queue. They called out what they needed, and the shopkeeper deftly "filled the orders," speeding things up considerably.
Beside the general store was the medical clinic. There were no patients inside at the moment, but a few children and women stood at the entrance.
"This, this is glass? You can really see right through it. Heavens, I never imagined such a divine object could exist!"
"Yes! When Second Niu's wife's sister-in-law's sister-in-law said it, I didn't believe her. I came specially today to see for myself. Turns out it's true!"
"I heard it was our lord who invented and forged it. Our lord really is a bodhisattva descended to earth—knows how to do everything."
"That's nothing. Listen to this—" A woman looked around, then lowered her voice to a whisper.
"I heard that Ge Feng is a city blessed by heaven. Back then, Qu Zhao tried to besiege Ge Feng. Guess what happened?"
"What happened?" The crowd gathered around the woman, eyes gleaming with a mix of tension and anticipation, feeling like they were about to hear some tremendous secret.
"Heh, they shattered!" The woman's expression was exaggerated. "The Qu Zhao general besieging Ge Feng just shattered into pieces, then melted away into black smoke. Our lord blew a single breath, and the black smoke vanished!"
"Hiss!" The crowd drew in sharp breaths. "Shattered... melted... and one breath, just... gone?"
The woman nodded. "That's why they say Ge Feng is a city blessed by heaven. Ge Feng only became heaven-blessed after our lord took it back. Think about it..."
"Hiss!" They drew in another sharp breath. "Then could our lord be...?"
Liu Mi sat inside the clinic, wearing a look of utter helplessness. Ever since the clinic had been repaired and fitted with that large pane of glass, the stream of people coming to see it outside hadn't stopped—it was truly an endless procession.
Jiang Jin hadn't expected glass to cause such a sensation. Her original intention had been simple: no matter how hard things got, you don't make your own people suffer. The clinic needed plenty of light for writing prescriptions and such.
So when she'd brought out supplies last time, she'd included over a dozen panes of glass. Not just for the clinic—she also planned to install them in the county office and the academy.
On the street, Hua Ruo looked through the glass window at Dr. Liu inside, and at the pharmacy apprentices bustling about—apprentices who were both male and female.
Mu Ning had been right: under the lord's command, there were not only female generals and female soldiers, but also female officials, female clerks, female physicians, female academy heads, female teachers...
Thinking of teachers, Hua Ruo's face twisted in discomfort.
She had started her schooling at age three and had studied for over ten years. She might not be a literary genius with endless learning, but she could claim to have read widely and been quite accomplished.
Yet when she came to Ge Feng, she had become an "illiterate." She had to relearn everything—otherwise, she couldn't even write her own name.
It was truly absurd. And what made it worse, perhaps because she was past the best age for learning, someone who had always been an excellent student now found learning simplified characters painfully difficult.
Even worse than the six- or seven-year-old children just starting school. It was beyond words.
But that had ignited her stubborn streak. How could someone as accomplished as her be defeated by mere simplified characters?
So now she was locked in battle with simplified characters, studying every chance she got—practicing the pinyin, and practicing with all the grit she could muster.
Looking at the county town that had regained its vitality in just a few days, Hua Ruo felt deeply moved, marveling at the might of the Jinyang Army.
She had never seen an army like this before. A powerful combat force and strict military discipline seemed to be just the basics of this army.
What made it truly remarkable was that it genuinely cared about the common people. Therefore, the Jinyang Army enjoyed great popularity among the people.
Once it captured a city, it would govern it well, ensuring that the people within the city could live in peace without worries. This was the real salvation for the people.
Just as she was thinking about this, Hua Ruo saw a valiant and heroic woman riding a horse towards her.
