Chapter 57.

The spies from the Western Bureau weren’t the only ones keeping an eye on Xie Shi Village—another group had also dispatched people to watch the place.

When a subordinate rushed in to report that someone unfamiliar had entered the village, Ying Hongxue’s expression immediately turned cold.

"They’re still cozying up to Marquis An Yuanhou? Truly relentless, aren’t they? So desperate they’ll ram their heads against a brick wall. Did you manage to catch what they talked about?"

Back when she first found out that Shi Hu and Marquis An Yuanhou were in cahoots—and even that Gao Youwen had been convinced to throw in with them, ready to exchange the Hongying Red Army’s loyalty for his own advancement—she had vehemently opposed it. But those two were blinded by greed and deaf to reason.

It was precisely to avoid getting dragged down by their ambitions that she broke ties with Gao Youwen and left with He Shan, taking her trusted followers with her.

Though the Red Lotus Sect still honored Gao Youwen as its leader, it had been Ying Hongxue who’d built it from the ground up. Her departure wasn’t about giving up what she’d created—it was a strategic retreat, a shift from the open to the hidden, cutting ties to avoid being shackled by their foolishness.

One of her scouts, nicknamed Old Hawk, reported back, his tone cautious. "I didn’t dare get too close and risk being spotted. But I overheard bits and pieces. They mentioned Yidu City—seems like they’re planning to attack it."

"Yidu City?" He Shan frowned in confusion. "Isn’t the Crown Prince stationed there? Are they out of their damn minds, walking straight into their graves?!"

The Hongying Red Army might look impressive with its numbers, but the truth was most of their ranks were made up of desperate peasants who had nowhere else to turn. It was all bluster and no bite. Back when the imperial court sent Marquis An Yuanhou to crush them, it had been Ying Hongxue’s cunning and manipulation of their overconfidence that turned the tide in their favor.

If they were forced into a direct confrontation, the ragtag Hongying Red Army wouldn’t stand a chance against the imperial forces. That’s why, when she and He Shan left, they took only around two thousand men—those they could trust and rely on.

Ying Hongxue’s eyes narrowed, her tone sharp. "They’re trying to use the Hongying Red Army as pawns in their little charade, all so they can buy themselves glory and riches. They really think they’ll live long enough to enjoy it?"

It was obvious to her what was happening. The Crown Prince’s presence and the failure of the second prince’s attempts to pacify the rebellion weren’t coincidences. This was a power struggle between the two factions, plain and simple.

Now, Marquis An Yuanhou was secretly colluding with the Hongying Red Army to attack Yidu City, where the Crown Prince resided. Anyone with half a brain could see this was a suicidal play. But Gao Youwen and Shi Hu, drunk on greed and delusion, seemed hell-bent on diving straight into the flames.

"Should we intervene?" He Shan asked hesitantly. He’d grown accustomed to deferring to Ying Hongxue, but his expression betrayed his unease. "There are still quite a few of our men left on the mountain."

Ying Hongxue lowered her gaze, lost in thought. To be honest, she had no desire to get involved in this mess.

Gao Youwen might be her senior from their monastery days, and they’d once shared a decent relationship, but the past two years had been enough to sour her patience. She was done tolerating Gao Youwen’s pettiness and paranoia.

Now was the perfect time to sever ties completely.

"If they’re so eager to die, let them."

She glanced at He Shan, who seemed to hesitate, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to say more but didn’t dare. Raising an eyebrow, she prodded, "What? Still can’t bear to leave your old brothers behind?"

He Shan, ever the straightforward type, sighed heavily. "A little, yeah. Feels wrong just standing by and watching them march to their deaths." He scratched the back of his neck, his voice softening as he added, "But I’ll do whatever you say."

That finally coaxed a smile out of her. Ying Hongxue’s beauty was striking—sharp features, deep-set eyes, and a foxlike allure that made her seem both captivating and untouchable. When she smiled, her presence softened just enough to unsettle those around her.

"Take a few men and guard Shagu Pass. If they’re planning to march on Yidu, they’ll have to pass through there. How many you can bring back alive will depend on your skills."

He Shan’s eyes lit up, his confidence instantly restored. "Got it!"

But instead of leaving right away, he lingered, his gaze darting toward her legs. "Your leg’s been bothering you again, hasn’t it? Let me stick around and give it a rub."

Ying Hongxue had injured her leg years ago, and improper treatment had left her with a lingering condition. Pain flared up unpredictably, worsened by their recent travels through the mountains. Despite He Shan’s attempts to carry her when needed, the strain was unavoidable.

She saw right through him, her smile deepening. "There’s work to do during the day. Come by tonight if you’re so eager."

*

Yin Chengyu sat in his study, flipping through the life records of the key leaders of the Red Lotus Sect.

—That captured rebel was one of Gao Youwen's closest aides, and he knew a lot. Desperate to save his own skin, he had been spilling everything he knew over the past few days, detailing every name and position within the Red Lotus Sect.

Yin Chengyu read through the information slowly, stopping abruptly when his eyes landed on one name: He Shan, the sect’s Right Protector. A memory clicked. That strange familiarity when he’d heard the name Ying Hongxue earlier—it all made sense now.

Ying Hongxue was He Shan’s wife.

In a past life, during the spring of Longfeng’s 24th year, a rebellion broke out in Shandong.

The rebel leader was none other than He Shan. Born with inhuman strength, he was a ferocious fighter despite losing his left arm. Leading a force of 5,000 rebels, he tore through Qingzhou in Shandong, all the way to the Zhending Prefecture in Zhili, threatening the imperial capital itself.

What started as 5,000 men swelled to a terrifying army of 50,000 as they marched.

At the time, the Yan Dynasty was already on its knees, ravaged by a plague that had wiped out half the military and drained the treasury dry. The empire was too weak to mount a proper counteroffensive. The court resorted to appeasement.

At first, He Shan refused any overtures for peace. Later, he changed his tone, demanding a royal prince be sent to negotiate as a show of sincerity.

Yin Chengyu, determined to ensure the success of the truce, had planned to go himself. But the Second Prince, envious of Yin Chengyu’s increasingly secure position as Crown Prince, wrested the opportunity away to claim the glory for himself.

The meeting was a disaster.

Both sides agreed to leave their weapons outside the tent for safety. Even He Shan’s spear was left behind. No one expected him to have two hidden daggers.

As negotiations seemed to reach a resolution, He Shan suddenly struck. One of the daggers plunged deep into the Second Prince’s chest.

Had the Second Prince not worn soft armor under his robes out of paranoia and had his men not fought desperately to protect him, He Shan might have ended him then and there, even before Yin Chengyu had the chance to act.

Even so, the Second Prince was gravely injured. He was sent back to Wangjing, where a team of imperial physicians worked around the clock for months to save him.

Yin Chengyu remembered every detail vividly because He Shan’s betrayal didn’t stop there.

The rebel leader marched his army to Hejian Prefecture, with the capital hanging by a thread. No general of suitable caliber was left to oppose him. Finally, Xue Shu, the fearsome eunuch and commander of the Four Guards Battalion, took up arms himself.

During the campaign, Xue Shu ordered a thorough investigation into He Shan’s background. It was then revealed that five years earlier, while Yin Chengyu had been imprisoned, Shandong had faced another rebellion.

The leader of that uprising? He Shan’s wife, Ying Hongxue.

The historical records were brief and vague. They simply stated that the rebellion had been quelled by the Second Prince, who personally beheaded Ying Hongxue to secure his claim to fame.

Nothing more.

At first, Yin Chengyu had hoped to negotiate with He Shan, holding onto a sliver of optimism. But the rebel leader rejected all overtures with a firm finality.

Xue Shu led 24,000 elite troops to Hejian Prefecture, engaging He Shan’s forces in a grueling month-long battle. The empire narrowly emerged victorious, outnumbering the rebels but barely so.

He Shan was cut down on the battlefield, but not before inflicting heavy losses. Xue Shu himself was gravely wounded, brought back to the capital clinging to life.

The scene remained vivid in Yin Chengyu’s mind: Xue Shu, drenched in blood, lying on a stretcher, a spear driven through his chest. The spear’s shaft had been sawed off for transport, but the gleaming tip remained embedded deep within his body. It was a miracle he’d survived.

Even the imperial physicians admitted it was beyond their hands—his survival depended on fate.

By then, Yin Chengyu had reclaimed his position as Crown Prince. The Second and Third Princes, though not yet eliminated, were no longer threats.

His advisors whispered to him, urging him to act decisively. Xue Shu, with his unrivaled control over the Eastern and Western Bureaus and the Four Guards Battalion, was too powerful, too dangerous. This was the perfect chance to eliminate him quietly, without suspicion.

Yin Chengyu knew they were right. His alliance with Xue Shu had been born of necessity, a partnership forged in weakness. But now, with power consolidated, Xue Shu was no longer an ally but a threat.

As the infamous “Jiu Qiansui,” Xue Shu’s authority rivaled that of the emperor himself. Should Yin Chengyu ascend to the throne, Xue Shu would undoubtedly become his greatest obstacle.

That day, he sat alone in the grand hall of Hongren Palace, lost in thought for what felt like an eternity. What came to mind wasn’t strategy or plans, but him—Xue Shu—standing before him, boldly asking for the right to fight.

“Your Highness,” Xue Shu had said, his tone as steady as steel. “You don’t need to worry. As long as I draw breath, this city—Wangjing—will never fall.”

And just like that, Xue Shu had leaned in, fingers teasingly lifting his chin, a daring grin playing on his lips. “As long as I live, the throne belongs to you, and only you. Anyone else who dares eye that dragon seat will have to face the blade in my hand first.”

The next morning, without hesitation, Xue Shu led 24,000 of the city’s elite guards to quell the rebellion in Hejian. It was a time of utter desperation for the court—resources depleted, morale shattered, chaos festering in every corner of the empire. Meanwhile, the rebel forces were a brutal 50,000 strong, marching with unstoppable momentum and blazing morale.

After spending a year by Xue Shu’s side, he knew the man’s heart was cold, detached. The lives of others—commoners, soldiers, even his enemies—meant nothing to him. It wasn’t his nature to throw himself into a hopeless war. He could’ve stayed safely behind the city walls, letting others march to their deaths.

But Xue Shu went anyway. Not for the empire, not for glory, but for him.

That night, he sat alone in the Hongren Hall, the weight of it all pressing down on him until dawn. As soon as the sun rose, he went to see Xue Shu.

The sight of him—pale, unconscious, teetering between life and death—was nothing short of a punch to the gut. High fever had flushed his cheeks a deep red, softening the sharpness of his face, making him look almost...fragile. For once, there was something vulnerable about him, something that stirred an emotion he refused to name.

Against his advisors’ protests, he ordered the imperial physicians to save him, no matter the cost. Thinking back now, there were countless moments when the doctors declared it hopeless. But somehow, Xue Shu survived. Sheer will dragged him back from the brink.

A bond like theirs—twisted, toxic, and unshakable—wasn’t something that could be broken so easily.

Yin Chengyu stared down at his writing desk, tapping the brush against the inkstone as he thought. Eventually, he circled two names: Ying Hongxue and He Shan.

Ying Hongxue was still alive. He Shan hadn’t yet grown into the ruthless force he’d been in a past life. Perhaps, if he acted now, he could subdue them both, turn them into tools for his own use.

And if that failed…

Yin Chengyu’s gaze hardened, and with a sharp flick of his wrist, he drew two harsh crosses over their names.

Setting the brush aside, he called for his attendants to fetch the soft armor he’d brought along—a rare, lightweight piece crafted by royal artisans.

Though thinner and more flexible than traditional armor, its resilience was unmatched, impervious to most weapons unless wielded by someone of He Shan’s monstrous strength. A prized possession of the imperial family, reserved for moments when survival was non-negotiable.

This time, he stormed into Shandong to crush the rebellion, fully prepared to unleash it if the situation demanded.

Yin Chengyu ran his fingers over the cold fabric, his mind drifting, unbidden, to the memory of Xue Shu, broken and bleeding, clinging to life in that past life. The bitterness of it all settled deep in his chest.

“Summon Xue Shu,” he ordered abruptly.

When Xue Shu arrived, he found Yin Chengyu standing by the window, back straight, hands clasped behind him. Even with the sunlight framing his figure, his expression was unreadable.

Xue Shu bowed low, then stepped closer, his eyes unwavering as they locked onto Yin Chengyu. “Your Highness. You called for me?”

Yin Chengyu didn’t turn, merely hummed in acknowledgment before picking up the soft armor and tossing it to him. “Just acquired this piece—decent enough quality. You’ll be leading troops in a few days; consider this a gift to keep you alive.”

———Author’s note: Doggy (Xue Shu): His Highness cares so much about me! teary-eyed with sparkles

Big Dog (another character): …Why didn’t I get one?