There came movement from beneath the city wall, and the sound of hooves approached from afar. The north wind howled, sweeping up the few remaining banners fluttering atop the battlements.

The embrace was brief—so brief it felt as though Xie Zheng had only pulled her into his arms in order to release the strength he’d used to haul her up.

Before Fan Changyu could even recover, Xie Zheng had already released her, his voice cold as steel as he left a single command:

“Stay on the city tower. Do not go down.”

Having said that, he himself took up his long-handled blade, seized a rope tied to an eagle-claw hook, and slid down the wall like a hawk skimming low through the wind.

Fan Changyu scrambled up, bracing her hands against the battlement as she looked down, catching sight of him brandishing his blade in pursuit of Sui Yuanqing.

Among the rebel peasants, many were actually secret agents planted by Sui Yuanqing. They wore the same coarse clothing as the common folk, darting about the crowd to sow chaos. Thousands of people milled together in disorder, packed so tightly that none could move freely. Xie Zheng’s advance was obstructed.

From her vantage point atop the tower, Fan Changyu could clearly see Sui Yuanqing’s movements. She pointed and shouted toward Xie Zheng, “That little bastard ran southwest!”

Hearing Fan Changyu’s call, Xie Zheng stepped on the shoulders of the clustered peasants and leapt forward, chasing southwest after Sui Yuanqing.

The assassins hidden among the peasants surged forth to intercept him. Xie Zheng struck several down with a sweep of his blade, but some of the assassins, dressed like farmers in patched coarse tunics, pretended to be commoners and shouted,

“This man in the azure-ghost mask is killing people!”

“I wasn’t one of those who stormed the city wall! Why are you swinging your blade at me!”

Some peasants, ignorant of the truth, saw Xie Zheng fighting with men dressed as commoners and thought he was slaughtering civilians. Enraged, they too grabbed their tools and rushed forward to surround him.

When facing the assassins, Xie Zheng could fight with full ferocity, but against the deceived peasants, he could only hold back. For a moment, he was entangled, unable to break free—giving Sui Yuanqing’s attendants time to escort him to the edge of the crowd.

Across the mass of people, the two locked eyes from a distance. Sui Yuanqing looked at Xie Zheng and gave a taunting smile.

Beneath the azure-ghost mask, Xie Zheng’s eyes were icy cold.

From the tower above, Fan Changyu saw Sui Yuanqing using such shameless tricks to escape and, furious, slammed her fist down on the parapet.

The already crumbling wall gave way under her blow, collapsing another small section.

Fan Changyu froze. She looked at the wall shedding mud and dust, then at her own hand, then at the county magistrate and Head Constable Wang staring at her in shock. Without hesitation, she stepped back several paces—putting a good distance between herself and that wall.

She must not end up having to pay for damages!

· ─ ·✶· ─ · 

He Jingyuan had already led his troops to block the only official road outside Qingping County’s gate. Seeing the county folk gathered in chaos outside the city, he could not immediately tell what had happened.

Noticing soldiers in Jizhou uniforms mixed among the crowd, his aged eyelids drooped slightly.

“Why are Jizhou troops here?”

He ordered the guard at his side, “Signal with flags, summon the Jizhou troops hidden among the crowd to come forward.”

On the battlefield, the clash of weapons was deafening; shouting could not be heard over it. All commands to advance or retreat relied solely on the language of flags.

The guard who received He Jingyuan’s order quickly fetched two small signal flags and waved them toward the Jizhou troops already at the edge of the crowd. The other side saw the signal—but instead of coming over, they turned and swiftly ran in the opposite direction.

The guard raised his eyes to He Jingyuan. “General, you see this…”

He Jingyuan said in a low, heavy voice, “They are not my Jizhou soldiers. Most likely, they are part of the unregistered army Wen Chang went to suppress. Capture them!”

A young officer immediately led a few dozen men in pursuit of Sui Yuanqing’s fleeing party.

Meanwhile, the assassins hidden among the crowd herded the peasants to block the soldiers’ advance, shouting all the while:

“The government troops are killing people!”

“The officials never saw the lives of us commoners as lives!”

“This corrupt dynasty—down with it!”

Some of the assassins took advantage of the chaos to stab several soldiers chasing Sui Yuanqing. The remaining soldiers, thinking their comrades had been killed by rebel peasants, were enraged and, without hesitation, began swinging their blades at the people who stood in their way.

Seeing the troops slaughter indiscriminately, some of the terrified townsfolk tried to squeeze deeper into the crowd for safety, while others, consumed by fury, raised their hoes and pitchforks to fight the soldiers to the death.

He Jingyuan’s brows furrowed tightly as he watched the two sides fall into complete disorder.

Another officer under his command, teeth clenched, stepped forward and said, “My lord, allow me to take a thousand men to suppress the rioters and support Captain Hu!”

Just as He Jingyuan was deliberating, a man in black burst out from the crowd. The man wielded a curved saber, tall in stature, his face hidden behind a azure-ghost mask. In a rough, husky voice, he said, “Those disguised in Jizhou uniforms who are fleeing are Sui Yuanqing, the second son of the Prince of Changxin. His men have dressed as rebel peasants to stir up chaos among the people.”

He Jingyuan thought to himself, No wonder. Studying the young man before him, he couldn’t help but ask, “Might I know who you are, warrior?”

Xie Zheng answered coldly, “A man of the wilds, unworthy of giving his name before my lord.”

Even as he spoke, his gaze swept toward the young officer who had spoken earlier. “Lend me your horse and bow.”

The officer suddenly felt a tug at his collar, and in the next moment, he was pulled down from his horse. Stumbling several steps to regain his balance, he looked up just in time to see the man already galloping away.

The officer, indignant, shouted, “How dare you—!”

But the moment his eyes met He Jingyuan’s, he fell silent and lowered his head in shame.

For the man to seize his horse within five paces without giving him a chance to react, he was clearly the lesser in skill.

He Jingyuan said nothing to rebuke him. His expression was complicated as he watched Xie Zheng’s figure disappear into the distance. After a moment, he finally ordered his men, “Sound the horns and form ranks.”

The rebels were in complete chaos; only by subduing them first could the army minimize further casualties.

The deep bellow of ox horns resounded through the air. Shield-bearing soldiers formed up in the front ranks, striking their thick shields with their sabers as thousands of voices rose in unison—

A thunderous cry that seemed to shake the very clouds.

The overwhelming show of force succeeded in cowing the panicked rebels into stillness.

The peasants held their farm tools facing the soldiers with shields and blades, but their faces were filled with fear, and they instinctively began to retreat.

He Jingyuan raised his voice and said, “I am He Jingyuan, Governor of Jizhou. You are all the people under my jurisdiction—why have you rebelled?”

When the commoners heard that it was he who led the troops, though they still held their tools aloft, a low murmur spread through the crowd. Their expressions softened; some even began to sob quietly.

After a brief silence, one man lowered his tool and fell to his knees, crying out in misery, “Lord He, please uphold justice for us!”

Once that small group in the front knelt down, those behind gradually followed suit, lowering their tools and kneeling one after another. The air was filled with weeping.

“We were forced to this, my lord! We had no choice!”

Even those who were still unwilling understood that the situation was beyond saving. They were mere farmers who only knew how to swing hoes and plows; against a trained army, they stood no chance. Rebellion was a crime that wiped out nine generations. If they did not yield and confess now, perhaps begging for mercy would be the only way to escape death by the sword.

In that moment, beneath the city wall, the cries of the people filled the air—some truly pouring out their grievances, others only pretending in fear of punishment.

But whatever the reason, the uprising was at last subdued.

The county magistrate sat collapsed on the tower, gasping for breath. Thinking of how close he had come to dying under a blade, his plump face trembled all over. He said to Head Constable Wang, “Head Constable Wang, you have saved my life. I shall reward you greatly when we return.”