Hey ya’ll I made a mistake in the previous ch. w.a.n.g Yu is the general leading the army and not Tang Yu. Tang Yu was only given a 4th ranked military officer position. Sorry guys, honestly, positions/ t.i.tles/ranks are really hard to translate to English. I thought they were searching for generals from the martial compet.i.tion but it looks like it was only for military officers which are below the general. So I've already went back and made the changes in the previous chapters.

***

Editor: Otwentyfirst

That night the Southern Army made camp near a forest and built a bonfire where they cooked and had their meals. After dinner, everyone went back to rest for the night in their tents. Having traveled for several consecutive days now, everyone was thoroughly exhausted.

Hua Zhu Yu waited until all the soldiers had fallen fast asleep before quietly leaving the tent.

Near the army camp was a small stream where the soldiers had gone to wash up before the meal. Hua Zhu Yu was the only one to not go at the time, and instead had waited for the cover of night before making her way over.

Resting in the night sky, the moon and stars brightly illuminated the earth. Hua Zhu Yu avoided the night patrolling soldiers and walked along the side of the stream. After walking for quite a while she hadn't left the vicinity of the camp as there were more than 20,000 troops present. So reluctantly she decided that she could only enter the waters fully clothed. Once she was deep enough in the stream for the waters to conceal her body, she undressed and began to wash up while enjoying the night view of the sky. With a sigh, she washed her uniform as well before leaving the stream.

Her whole body was soaking wet but the sweat and dirt that had acc.u.mulated the past few days were completely washed away. She grabbed the new uniform she had set on sh.o.r.e and went to find a sheltered place to change her clothes.

She crossed the wooden bridge to the other side of the stream and noticed there was a remote mountain up ahead where unfamiliar bird calls could be heard. She walked over and found a hidden place where she quickly changed her clothes. But as soon as she finished, she heard voices approaching.

Startled, she lept up and took shelter in the shadows of the trees. She pinned her long wet hair up in a bun and peered through the gaps of the tree branches. She spotted 3 men approaching who spoke in a very fast manner and she recognized their accents as that originating from Northern Kingdom.

It seemed the Southern army had camped quite close to the northern border. If they were to travel one more day they would arrive at Su Zhou. Who knows, they may even engage in battle as early as tomorrow.

But were these people spies the Northern Kingdom sent?

Thinking up to here she suddenly heard people rus.h.i.+ng over from the forest. The man in the lead had a tall, strong build. She heard the hum of a sword and in a flash the groups engaged in a battle.

Though the spies' martial skills weren't bad, the two opponents they met were by no means ordinary foot soldiers. The 3 spies were caught off guard and soon one of them was killed, leaving two to be captured alive.

Beneath the moonlight, Hua Zhu Yu observed the two men who had arrived and noted the uniform they wore belonged to Southern Kingdom. After closer examination, she recognized them as Tang Yu and Nangong Jue.

The two of them were ranked military officers so the 3 spies truly met with bad luck tonight to be caught by them patrolling.

translations at peachblossomgrove . com

With a wave of their hand, they handed the spies over to the soldiers behind them to take care off. Immediately after they leapt up onto the tree that Hua Zhu Yu was presently hiding in.

Hua Zhu Yu was startled as she didn't expect them to notice her. Perhaps they had already a.s.sumed that she was also a Northern Kingdom spy. Quickly, she jumped down and said, "Wait a moment!"

Though they heard her, they're movements did not falter in the least. Especially Nangong Jue whose sword was aiming straight for her chest.

She dodged the attack and said, "I'm not a spy, you're catching the wrong person." Based on her many years of experience, she knew it would be difficult to dispel their doubts about her.

"Whether or not you're a spy, that's for the General to decide! Now obediently follow us!" Nangong Jue coldy stated.

"Alright," she said as she dodged another one of Nangong Jue's attack. "Stop and I'll follow you."

Nangong Jue withdrew his sword and motioned for the soldiers behind him to apprehend Hua Zhu Yu and escort her back to camp.

Inside his camp, General w.a.n.g Yu a.s.sessed Hua Zhu Yu and the spies. w.a.n.g Yu gave orders to the soldiers to interrogate the spies and found out that they were indeed spies the Northern Kingdom sent to probe for news about the Southern Army.

Hua Zhu Yu didn't think that by secretly going to wash up in the middle of the night she would suddenly become a spy suspect. In addition, that w.a.n.g Yu did not dawdle in the least, as soon as he heard the results of the investigation he immediately gave orders to behead the spies, quick and decisively.

With a serious face, Hua Zhu Yu said, "General w.a.n.g, I want to see Lord Chancellor." She had no intentions of escaping or dying here either. She had to see Ji Feng Li. He was the official supervising over the army thus his authority and power within the army wasn't small. Moreover, that w.a.n.g Yu was most definitely one of his men, if not how could Ji Feng Li leave it to him to lead the army.

w.a.n.g Yu a.s.sessed Hua Zhu Yu for a moment and then coldly said, "You're nothing but a small soldier. Why would Lord Chancellor come see you?"

"I belong to the Chancellor's Residence," Hua Zhu Yu replied. She didn't think that one day she would actually have to hope for Ji Feng Li to come rescue her.

Hearing this, w.a.n.g Yu gave her another a.s.sessment before giving orders to the soldiers to escort her to Ji Feng Li's camp. When they reached his camp, a guard went inside to give an announcement and moments later, she was brought inside.

When Ji Feng Li lifted his head and saw Hua Zhu Yu entering, his lips lifted in a faint smile. He waved his hands and all the guards withdrew, leaving only them alone.

Inside his tent, the candles were burning brightly and Ji Feng Li stood at the center dressed in a body of white robes, relaxed and uninhibited. She hadn't seen him at all during the entire journey but apparently he was still as refined as ever.

He looked at Hua Zhu Yu and smiled, "What, you couldn't wait to send a message to the Northern Emperor?" Though his tone was still light, though his smile was still gentle, she felt a ma.s.sive pressure targeting her.

She knew that Ji Feng Li had always been suspicious that she was Xiao Yin's person and the events that transpired tonight would definitely strengthen those suspicions. Perhaps it was due to those suspicions that he allowed her to enter the army in the first place. But Hua Zhu Yu dared to bet that Ji Feng Li wouldn't kill her, at least not for the time being. Not because he didn't want to, but because he knew better than w.a.n.g Yu her position in Xiao Yin's heart. He had personally witnessed Xiao Yin rescuing her from the beast. Hua Zhu Yu also still clearly recalled that day when Xiao Yin departed with Wen Wan. He had said that he was using Wen Wan as his bargaining chip to ensure her safety.

"You carry such deep feelings for him, but I wonder how well he'll treat you," Ji Feng Li said slowly as a complicated look flashed in his phoenix eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Hua Zhu Yu lifted her head and looked at him coldly.

"Since ancient times, I've heard of men getting enraged over a beautiful woman but never heard of men getting enrage over a male pet! This Chancellor thinks perhaps this war even has something to do with you. What do you think? If this Chancellor hands you over, will Xiao Yin withdraw his troops?" Ji Feng Li said with a faint smile.