Chen Ji slowly changed into clean clothes, and every move tugged at the wounds all over his body, causing pain.

While fastening his belt, he looked down at the bandages wrapped around him and turned to ask the little monk, "Did you take care of my wounds?"

The little monk quickly said, "No, no, when I saw you, it was already like this..."

Chen Ji seemed lost in thought, his memory still lingering at the moment he jumped into the water; how he got ashore and reunited with Xiao Man and others was completely unknown to him.

But he knew, to bring him here, someone must have suffered.

The little monk whispered again, "When I saw you, it was Benefactor Zhang Xia who carried you over. She furrowed her brows when she put you down, seemingly having suffered serious injuries on her back as well."

Chen Ji's hand paused while fastening his belt, then he finished and said to the woods, "Alright."

Zhang Xia stepped out from behind the tree, approached and looked him over, "How is it? Can you hold on?"

Chen Ji, pale-faced, replied with an unrelated question, "How about you?"

Zhang Xia was slightly taken aback, glanced at the little monk, and then smiled brightly, "I'm alright."

Chen Ji remained silent.

Zhang Xia teased, "If Xiao Man, the little monk, and I were injured, you'd do the same... Even though you're badly hurt, I'm quite happy right now."

Chen Ji was puzzled, "Happy?"

Zhang Xia said seriously, "This time, I finally don't have to just wait helplessly to die."

Chen Ji sincerely praised her, "Impressive."

Zhang Xia led Zaozao in front of him, "You're too injured, sit on Zaozao."

Chen Ji didn't take the reins but instead looked past Zhang Xia's shoulder to Princess Liyang behind her, "Although I'm the Inspector General of the Imperial Camp, tasked with bringing you back to the capital, you now need to give me a reason not to kill you."

Princess Liyang smiled, as if she had long prepared what to say, "Over the years, I've secretly killed those they wanted me to marry, faking their deaths as illnesses. One was Yuan Xiang's nephew, the other was the new best scorer."

Xiao Man's eyes widened, "You killed them just to avoid marriage?"

Princess Liyang answered frankly, "Once married and with children, one would have weaknesses, but I have many things to do, I can't afford weaknesses."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, "Not enough."

Princess Liyang smiled, "Then let me add another secret. Last year, our dynasty's Second Prince 'Prince Wei' was poisoned; Shangjing City was under curfew for three months. Though Yuan Xiang turned it upside down, they couldn't find the culprit. The court and the public were outraged... I orchestrated this from behind the scenes."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ji and Zhang Xia instinctively exchanged a glance.

This was already an immense secret.

Princess Liyang continued, "I dispatched the elite of Longyou Road to secretly infiltrate Shangjing, stationed outside the Ten Princes Mansion for a year, and finally discovered that Prince Wei often visited Ande Square... the registered location on your travel passes. I suppose the death soldiers replacing Western Capital Road were inserted there by Jiang Xianzong to monitor the Second Prince as well."

Princess Liyang recalled, "Second Brother kept several young companions in Ande Square; some were abducted from Longhua State, others were tributes from nobles, all with rosy lips and fair cheeks, eyebrows clear and eyes bright. Knowing his preference, I had the elite of Longyou Road find suitable death soldiers, purposely showing up in front of him during the Lantern Festival night and dropped the poison hidden under their fingernails into his cup... I thought it would take some effort, but unexpectedly, Second Brother was so easy to kill."

Xiao Man looked at the little monk in shock.

Princess Liyang also looked at the little monk frankly, "This little master seems to have a divine skill of telepathy, whether it's true or not can be seen with a glance."

The little monk pursed his lips and nodded silently.

Zhang Xia asked in confusion, "Why did you kill Prince Wei?"

Princess Liyang replied as if it was natural, "He wanted to kill my brother, so I naturally had to kill him. This case is unsolved in the Jing Dynasty, if it's found out that I did it, I'd definitely die in the deep palace, and my brother would lose the chance to ascend the throne. Everyone, now that we've shared each other's secrets, we can share wealth and prosperity."

Chen Ji silently weighed the pros and cons.

Xiao Man muttered, "Only share wealth and prosperity? What about sharing difficulties?"

Princess Liyang sincerely said, "Although I admire how wholeheartedly you all get along, I admit that I can't do it. So I can't live and die for each other like you... But one day if I can breathe freely and hold a place in the Jing Dynasty, you all will have an additional patron."

Chen Ji slowly exhaled, "Your Highness is quite an extraordinary person, we won't kill you today, but please remember, you have secrets in our hands. Don't ask what shouldn't be asked, don't say what shouldn't be said, otherwise you won't be able to protect yourself, and certainly not your brother."

Princess Liyang gave Chen Ji a formal bow, smiling, "As you command."

Chen Ji turned to Zhang Xia and said, "I can't ride Zaozao back, keen observers will guess I'm injured, if anyone should ride, it should be Her Highness."

Zhang Xia nodded, signaling Xiao Man to help Princess Liyang onto the horse.

Princess Liyang exhaled deeply, "Finally, I don't have to walk."

Chen Ji looked over, seeing that the blood from her soles had soaked through her shoes, yet she hadn't uttered a complaint until now.

Princess Liyang curiously asked, "What do we do next?"

Chen Ji looked at the little monk, "Please chant some scriptures again, before we return to Chongli Pass, I need to look presentable."

Without waiting for the little monk to chant, Xiao Man urged, "Hurry, chant!"

Princess Liyang sat on Zaozao, jokingly, "I once heard the old monk 'Chan Zhao' of Kujue Temple mention that there's a Reincarnated Buddha with the divine skill of telepathy in Yunzhou of the Southern Dynasty, who has reincarnated three times to overcome his heart tribulation, but used the wrong method."

The little monk was stunned, "What do you mean?"

Princess Liyang recalled, "The old monk said, a heart moved only becomes a tribulation when it desires more; if the heart remains unmoved, where would a tribulation come from?"

Zhang Xia suddenly looked up at her, "If falling in love is destined to lead to calamity, why fall in love?"

Princess Liyang meaningfully replied, "Second Miss Zhang, if one doesn't face calamity, how can one prove fruition?"

…

…

At noon.

On the official road outside Chongli Pass, a man staggered back, collapsing beside the road before reaching the Peace Gate.

Sharp-eyed guards on the gate tower hurriedly called out, "Mr. Hong, it's Mr. Hong!"

Dozens of soldiers rushed out of the Peace Gate, carrying the unconscious Hong Zuer back inside. As the crowd gathered to head back, they heard the sound of armor, and the soldiers made way.

Chongli Pass General Zhang Lanjin, clad in golden armor, approached to inspect Hong Zuer's injuries.

A knife wound slashed diagonally from shoulder to waist, with countless fine scars elsewhere.

Zhang Lanjin said in a deep voice, "Lay him face down on the ground."

In front of the Peace Gate, Zhang Lanjin took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom and removed the red cloth stopper.

Someone whispered, "Is this the wound medicine the General brought back from Laojun Mountain Dao Court?"

Zhang Lanjin grunted in affirmation, then gently sprinkled it on Hong Zuer's back wounds. The deep wounds miraculously began healing visibly, not yet fully healed but at least covering the bones.

The soldiers marveled, "Why doesn't the General bring more medicine from the Dao Court?"

Zhang Lanjin calmly replied, "I am no longer a member of the Dao Court."

At this moment, Hong Zuer let out a muffled groan and gradually woke up.

His first question after opening his eyes was urgent, "Have all the Night Patrol returned?"

A soldier softly replied, "They returned. Gao Yuan and Zhou Fang led the others to behead seventy-two Mo Blade soldiers, breaking the siege with the Divine Machine Camp and Yulin Army... over thirty Night Patrol members were lost, over sixty Yulin Army, and now they are recovering in the military quarters."

Hong Zuer's expression darkened but was quickly concealed, "What about Ah Sheng and Bai Zi?"

The soldier continued, "Ah Sheng and Bai Zi are fine. After they returned, they led the body recovery team out again, saying the weather was too hot to leave comrades' remains out there."

Hong Zuer struggled to support himself, expectantly looking towards Zhang Lanjin, "The Eunuch Party is pursuing Yuan Heng Lizhen. For him to escape the Da Ma Mountain, he must go through Manni Dam. Deploying troops via Huangtu Mouth, we might intercept him at the Old Zhanggou Forest. His daring deep incursion makes it the best time to kill him, crippling the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry for three years."

Zhang Lanjin turned to walk up the gate tower, "Focus on recovering, no one moves without Ministry of War documentation."

Hong Zuer hesitated, "By the time the Ministries in the Imperial Capital learn of Chongli Pass's situation, half a month will have passed, and Yuan Heng Lizhen will be back in the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry camp."

Zhang Lanjin, standing on the stone steps, looked back at him, "Come back as an Assistant General."

Hearing the words "Assistant General," Hong Zuer hesitated.

Zhang Lanjin calmly asked, "Why?"

Hong Zuer shook his head, "In just two months as an Assistant General, I already caused the deaths of hundreds of brothers, I can't do it."

Zhang Lanjin said no more, "The position remains open; consider it and seek me out when ready."

After Zhang Lanjin's silhouette disappeared into the gate tower, someone curiously asked, "Mr. Hong, what happened for you to be so wounded?"

Hong Zuer suddenly remembered something. Standing straight, he asked the surrounding soldiers in a firm voice, "Has Chen Ji returned?"

The soldiers exchanged puzzled glances, "Chen Ji?"

Hong Zuer firmly questioned, "Has the Jing Dynasty Envoy reached Chongli Pass?"

As they spoke, the sound of hooves came from outside the gate.

Hong Zuer looked up and saw Chen Ji walking alongside Zhang Xia, with Xiao Man leading a horse for Princess Liyang, passing through the shadow of the Peace Gate's archway.

Pushing through the crowd, he reached Chen Ji and unceremoniously pulled him towards the gate's exit.

Once in a secluded place, Hong Zuer finally asked, "It was you, wasn't it?"

Chen Ji, maintaining composure, asked, "What does Mr. Hong mean by this?"

Hong Zuer stared directly into his eyes, "You were the armored one on the mountain, wasn't it? I misunderstood you before. You saved the lives of dozens of the Night Patrol at the border, giving them a chance to survive. I'm willing to kneel and apologize."

Chen Ji shook his head, "Mr. Hong must have mistaken me. While I'd like to claim that credit, I was escorting the Jing Dynasty Envoy back and didn't do what Mr. Hong described."

Hong Zuer disbelieved, observing Chen Ji's complexion, finding him tired but not critically injured.

He unhesitatingly rolled up Chen Ji's sleeves, recalling Jiang Liuxian's Sword Gang had once slashed through this flesh.

But upon rolling up the sleeve, Hong Zuer froze: Chen Ji's right arm was intact.

Unconvinced, he rolled up the left sleeve, finding it equally unharmed.

Chen Ji remained impassive during the examination, his expression as calm as still water, showing no pain or peculiarities from any potential wounds.

Hong Zuer murmured, "It wasn't you…"