Hearing the young man say this, the woman only felt that this young man before her did indeed hold some official position, but it should not be high. After all, how old could he be? It was just that, seeing this young man's composure, the woman felt he must come from a prestigious family. His household most likely had someone of high rank and authority in the court.

This also put her mind at ease considerably.

Hence, after hesitating for a moment, she still agreed to the young man's request.

That night, the surviving guards and a few cooks and others huddled before a single bonfire. At this point, there were not even enough people to make two separate fires.

And the guards no longer had their earlier joy, now they were dreadfully quiet, everyone frowning deeply, heavy with gloom.

It was a stark contrast to before.

The young man did not sit by the fire, but instead leaned alone against the carriage, gazing up at the star-filled sky, a little lost in thought.

In the previous battle, he and Autumn had truly unleashed all their skills, pulling out every trick they had. That battle was far more intense than the one before.

Chen Chao once again forced Autumn to reveal her true form, and Autumn had also shown all her trump cards. The two of them fought as if the heavens and earth were turned upside down, perhaps the most brutal battle ever fought between two Nepenthe realm cultivators in this world.

As for the final result, Chen Chao was unable to kill Autumn, and Autumn also failed to kill him.

The most dangerous moment was when Chen Chao's saber slashed across Autumn's neck; just a hair's breadth more, and he would have taken the demon princess’s head.

And Autumn came closest to killing Chen Chao when that flying sword called Autumn Beyond the Tower pierced straight through Chen Chao's chest. Just an inch more, and it would have run through his heart.

Even after suffering serious injuries, neither of them stopped. Instead, they kept fighting. Bearing heavy wounds, they exchanged blow after blow, until finally, both were nearly exhausted. After one last desperate clash, Chen Chao fell into the river and was swept away.

Autumn fell into a forest and then vanished without a trace.

Chen Chao did not believe Autumn was dead, just as Autumn would never believe he would die.

Chen Chao shook his shoulders and muttered, “What a crazy woman. If I see her again next time, she'll definitely be even harder to deal with.”

Chen Chao was very clear that Autumn would only become more and more difficult to handle in the future. He even suspected she might become a sword cultivator. With the sword qi inside that Embracing Autumn Beyond the Tower, if they really fought again, Chen Chao figured he would want to strangle himself.

Still, as the saying goes, “One reaps what one sows.” Chen Chao could understand that.

“Hey... Benefactor...”

Just as Chen Chao was lost in thought, a clear voice rang out.

Chen Chao returned to his senses and looked toward the girl who had appeared before him at some point in time.

The girl was holding a waterskin, passed it to Chen Chao, and said shyly, “My mother told me to come thank Benefactor and bring you some water.”

Chen Chao took the waterskin and nodded. He was indeed a bit thirsty.

The girl stared at Chen Chao without looking away. She did not know why, but she just thought this young man was very good-looking.

After drinking, Chen Chao handed the waterskin back to the girl. The girl still did not leave. Holding the waterskin, she simply stood there looking at Chen Chao, her face a little red, yet she said nothing.

Chen Chao looked at her. “Is there something else?”

The girl thought for a moment, then softly said, “Mother said Benefactor is also an official in the court?”

Hearing the word Benefactor, Chen Chao felt it rather awkward. He thought for a moment and said, “My surname is Chen. You can just call me Young Master Chen.”

“Ah, so Lord Chen also has the surname Chen?”

The girl looked at the young man before her with some surprise. Her eyes were filled with too many emotions.

Chen Chao was curious, “Also?”

The girl answered a little shyly, “I heard that our Lord Warden Commander also has the surname Chen. I wonder if Your Excellency has met him?”

“Him, huh... I've seen him from afar once.”

Chen Chao nodded and casually made something up.

“Is that Lord Warden Commander handsome? Does Your Excellency normally interact with him?”

Such was a young girl's nature. Even though she had just experienced a life-and-death situation, she could now cheer up so quickly.

Chen Chao glanced at her. “He's average. Not as good-looking as me. As for daily interaction, I really don't have much to do with him. After all, he's the Lord Warden Commander. I'm far beneath him.”

The girl was originally a bit upset hearing Chen Chao say the Lord Warden Commander was average, but after hearing the rest, she felt a bit of sympathy and said, “Lord Chen is still young. You'll definitely rise higher and higher in the future.”

Chen Chao smiled at the girl and said softly, “But he's about the same age as me. He's already the top military official in the court. I'll never catch up in this lifetime.”

The girl was taken aback. With him saying that, she did not know how to respond.

Chen Chao chuckled. It was just a joke. He never took it seriously. After shaking his head, he only said two words: “It's fine.”

Although the girl wanted to say something more, in the end, she said nothing.

The next morning, the group set off again. But this time, they were not heading toward the Divine Capital, but toward Jiang'an Commandery.

......

......

Jiang'an Commandery was one of the most prosperous commandery cities in Xinliu Prefecture. Although it was not a military stronghold, due to its large population, it ranked near the top in Xinliu Prefecture. As such, the officials here were generally more arrogant than those elsewhere in the prefecture.

That Su Tong was such a man. Though he had achieved no notable military merit in recent years, he had amassed a great deal of profit in Jiang'an Commandery. It would not be an exaggeration to call him the wealthiest garrison commander among these cities.

Every official in Jiang'an Commandery knew that this General Su had three great loves: first, beautiful women; second, fine wine; and third, silver and gold.

In the General's Office of Jiang'an Commandery—

Su Tong, now past forty and already grossly overweight, was watching some singing girls dance in his residence when a young deputy general in armor hurriedly strode in. This deputy general's expression was unpleasant. He passed through the dancing girls and came straight up to Su Tong, bowed, and said, “Great General, bad news, someone from the Divine Capital has arrived. They named you and the commandery governor and asked that all officials go to the city gate to receive them.”

Su Tong, half drunk, asked, “Who? With such big airs?”

The young deputy general shook his head. “I don't know. Just heard he's very young. Probably some noble family scion from that side.”

“Hmph, some silkpants from the Divine Capital, just someone with a better birth, throwing their weight around with their family background, and they expect this general to personally go welcome them?”

“Your Father earned this position by hacking my way through the battlefield one slash at a time! As for this kind of useless trash, this general doesn't care one bit!”

Su Tong slammed the table and said angrily, “Go tell them, this general has caught a cold and cannot receive guests!”