Chapter 63: Shen Shi's Husband is Right There

Thirty li outside Xizhou City lay the Xichang military camp.

He Tuo asked his subordinate, "The signal arrow was fired half a day ago, yet there is still no movement from Xizhou City?"

The subordinate hurriedly replied, "Rest assured, General. My men have been keeping a close watch. The moment the city gates open, the scouts will immediately report back to you."

"This Shen Shi is certainly better at keeping her composure than I expected."

With these words, He Tuo walked toward the main tent.

The Xichang marshal had been struck by an arrow from Shen Shi. Upon returning to the camp, he developed a high fever, his life hanging by a thread, sustained only by ginseng. The military physician declared that if the marshal did not wake within three days, his fate would be sealed.

Today was already the fourth day.

The two-hundred-thousand-strong Xichang army was composed of twenty-six tribes from the western frontier, each led by its respective chieftains. They had originally come together solely for mutual benefit. Now that the marshal's life was hanging in the balance, everyone wanted to claim the leadership position, and they were arguing endlessly beside the marshal's sickbed.

Even before entering the tent, He Tuo could hear them speaking in various dialects, boasting about how brave and battle-tested their own tribe's warriors were, and how they formed the backbone of the great army. They declared that even if the marshal could no longer fight, they could take his place and lead the army to capture Xizhou City.

He Tuo had already argued with them several times and had even beheaded a few of the most rebellious troublemakers, but the deterrent effect could only last temporarily.

The immense glory and benefits of capturing Xizhou City as the commander-in-chief—defeating every obstacle and pressing directly upon the Great Qi's capital of Shengjing—were too great. Once there was a chance to attain such prestige, even if it were only a ten percent possibility, no one was willing to cede it to another.

This was also the primary reason He Tuo had decided to employ a psychological strategy to take Xizhou City.

Once full-scale warfare broke out between the two armies, if these twenty-6 tribes undermined each other just to seize greater spoils, they would instead let the people of Great Qi reap the benefits.

Come to think of it, all of this was Shen Shi's fault.

The tenth young miss of the Shen family possessed formidable skills. Not only had a single arrow directly taken the life of the Xichang marshal, but she had also indirectly disrupted the morale of the two hundred thousand Xichang troops.

The people inside the main tent were quarreling without end. With the marshal down to his last breath, he could no longer keep the various tribes in check.

Instead of going in, He Tuo turned and walked toward the prisoner camp. "I refuse to believe she can truly abandon her newlywed husband and do nothing. Come, let us go and see what kind of man could possibly become Shen Shi's husband."

His subordinate followed closely behind him. "That man is certainly handsome enough. I haven't noticed any other redeeming qualities for now; perhaps Shen Shi simply took a fancy to that face of his."

He Tuo raised a hand and stroked his own face.

Three days ago, when he first laid eyes on Shen Shi, he had brazenly declared that he would capture her to be his warm-bed concubine.

What had Shen Shi said at the time? She found him ugly!

He was determined to see what extraordinary traits Shen Shi's husband possessed.

The Xichang soldiers had locked all the captured commoners in the prisoner camp, binding their hands and feet.

Huddled together in a corner, hundreds of people shivered in terror the moment they heard footsteps approaching.

"General, Shen Shi's husband is in there."

Leading He Tuo into the tent situated right in the center of the prisoner camp, the subordinate pointed toward a handsome young man dressed in a green scholar's robe.

"Good." He Tuo unhooked the bone whip from his waist and played with it in his hand. "Let me take a closer look—"

"I told you, I am not Shen Shi's husband! You have captured the wrong person!"

Pei Jing had been sitting on the ground, but upon seeing that the newcomer appeared to be a general, he immediately stood up.

"Brother Pei..."

Murong Yunwei called out in a low voice. Seeing the newcomer's aura reeking of bloodshed, clearly a man not to be trifled with, she was utterly terrified.

She, Pei Jing, and a dozen accompanying servants had been captured at the Jiang family's secluded mountain residence. Having traveled day and night all the way from the capital to the western frontier, they had heard that the battle of Luoyue Pass had already begun.

After making numerous inquiries, they finally located the place where the Jiang family lived in seclusion. Traversing mountains and rivers to reach it, they found the dwelling long since abandoned. They had no choice but to descend the mountain and inquire along the way if anyone had seen the young man surnamed Jiang.

Who could have anticipated running into Xichang soldiers in broad daylight on the road? Those men spoke in a foreign tongue they could not understand, but Pei Jing managed to make out a few phrases, realizing that the Xichang soldiers seemed to be hunting for Shen Shi's husband, and had mistakenly captured them in the process.

The hatred in Murong Yunwei's heart burned fiercely.

Why was it always Shen Shi?!

"What? You are not Shen Shi's husband?"

Without missing a beat, He Tuo lashed out with his whip, striking Pei Jing directly across the body.

Pain turned Pei Jing's face pale as paper, yet he managed to suppress any cries of agony.

The force of the whip was exceptionally heavy, tearing his flesh open and allowing fresh blood to seep out, staining his robes red.

In contrast, Murong Yunwei shrieked in alarm, "Brother Pei! Don't hit him, stop hitting him... Just tell us what you want done, why resort to lethal force the moment you arrive?"

"If you aren't Shen Shi's husband, I truly couldn't be bothered to beat you. Since you're useless anyway, drag him out—" He Tuo said casually, "Kill him!"

At these words, cold sweat instantly broke out on Pei Jing's forehead.

The Xichang soldiers acknowledged the order and moved to drag him outside.

Seeing this, Murong Yunwei turned deathly pale with fright.

All her wealth, glory, and favor in this lifetime had been staked upon Pei Jing. Before she had even gained anything, her newlywed husband was about to be senselessly murdered by the Xichang people.

How could she allow that?

"Yes, he is! You cannot kill him!"

Unable to remain calm or think clearly out of panic, Murong Yunwei could only piece together from their words that they desperately wanted to capture Shen Shi's husband, and that this matter was of utmost importance, while ordinary captives would be slaughtered without a second thought.

Yet ‘Shen Shi’s husband’ was definitely someone who could not be casually killed off.

Crying out in desperate affirmation, Murong Yunwei lunged forward to shield Pei Jing with her body.

With her hands and feet bound, her desperate dive resembled a rabbit hopping forward, causing her to crash directly into Pei Jing, who was enduring his pain in silence, knocking him flat onto the ground.

Murong Yunwei's body pressed heavily atop Pei Jing, truly acting as a human shield.

However, her weight landed directly upon Pei Jing's fresh wound, multiplying his agony tenfold. A stifled groan escaped his lips as cold sweat poured down his face.

Watching the two star-crossed lovers piled together while twirling his blood-stained bone whip, He Tuo asked with a strange amusement, "Then who on earth are you?"

Two days prior, spies lurking within Xizhou City had sent word that Shen Shi's husband had also arrived in Xizhou City, delivering both grain and medicine, and that the entire Shen army regarded him as their own kinsman and master.

Yet this son-in-law of the Shen family had not lingered long in Xizhou City, setting off to invite some reclusive figure to join their cause. He Tuo had dispatched men in pursuit with strict orders to drag the man back at all costs.

To this end, he had even specifically questioned a spy who had just arrived from the capital, learning that Shen Shi's husband was a scholarly literatus surnamed Pei, named Pei Jing.

His physical traits matched the man before him almost entirely.

The only baffling part was this woman, who had shrieked "Brother Pei" and, despite being terrified out of her wits, had lunged forward to protect him.

"I... I am Shen Ruojin's younger sister."

Murong Yunwei's thoughts spun with lightning speed. Hearing this Xichang general constantly bring up Shen Shi, she deduced that capturing Shen Shi's husband must serve a major purpose, meaning she, as her sister, must surely hold some value as well.

So she declared.

The surrounding Xichang soldiers found this utterly bizarre. "Do these people of Great Qi play things so loosely?"

"Shen Shi is commanding troops to defend Xizhou City, while her husband brings her sister here to play star-crossed lovers?"

He Tuo scrutinized Murong Yunwei carefully.

This woman bore no resemblance to Shen Shi whatsoever.

Claiming to be a sister—what sister would instinctively fling herself forward to press against her brother-in-law without a second thought?

Just as He Tuo felt a growing sense of suspicion, the blare of a horn sounded from outside the tent.

Soldiers shouted in panic, "The Shen army is attacking! Shen Shi is leading her troops here!"