[Western Yan, Fourth Prince's Manor]
"Useless!"
A crisp crack echoed as a fine white porcelain teacup shattered at Gu Xiao's feet. Scalding tea splashed his boots, but he remained kneeling, trembling, not daring to lift his head.
"This subordinate deserves ten thousand deaths! That Situ Jing somehow obtained powerful firearms, and those Great Qi merchants are all formidable martial artists. The assassins I led... were annihilated." Gu Xiao's voice shook as he pressed his forehead to the floor. "But I have discovered they are heading straight for the Zhanchuan fief."
Murong Xiao, the Fourth Prince, had a face dark with malice, but upon hearing "Zhanchuan," the fire in his eyes died down into something more chilling. He sat back slowly, his long fingers tapping the armrest rhythmically.
"Zhanchuan..." A playful, sinister arc touched Murong Xiao's lips. "That is the stronghold of the Thirty-Seven Stockades. I've spent three years trying to besiege and recruit them, and those rebels would rather eat bark than bow. Now, the third Chu son is hand-delivering the 'key' to me. I should thank him."
Gu Xiao blinked, puzzled. "Your Highness means...?"
"Pass the word: stop the forced interceptions." Murong Xiao's gaze was that of a vulture watching its prey. "Send elite shadowed guards to follow them secretly. Maintain distance. Let Chu Yuning consolidate those mad dogs. When he has forged those scattered sands into a single lethal blade, I will personally step in and take it."
He let out a cold snort. "Remember, I want the Thirty-Seven Stockades intact. Until they reach the core of Zhanchuan, no one touches a hair on Chu Yuning's head. As for that Situ Jing... once the matter is settled, I'll show her the price of betrayal."
[The Imperial Road to Zhanchuan]
Meanwhile, the combined convoy of the Prince of Zhan and the Situ family entered the desolate plains bordering Great Qi and Western Yan. The winds grew fierce, and the mountains on either side turned jagged—a natural fortress and a killing field.
Crimson Nine pulled her reins, her brow furrowing as she checked the faint pulse on her bracer.
[System Prompt: High-intensity killing intent detected 5km behind. Target maintaining constant tracking distance; no hostile engagement initiated.]
"The tails got smarter," Crimson Nine whispered to Xiao Zhan, who rode beside her. "They're waiting for us to open the door for them."
Xiao Zhan's dark eyes flickered toward the distant silhouette of a mountain fortress. He sneered, "They want to be the 'oriole' behind the cicada? Let's see if they have the teeth for it. Third Brother, is that the first stockade up ahead?"
Chu Yuning nodded, his expression heavy. "That is Azure Dragon Stockade. It's the largest and fiercest of the thirty-seven. The master, Lei Wanjun, was my father's deputy general—a man with a temper like fire. But after three years... I don't know what they've become."
Inside the carriage, Blue Five was counting her remaining incendiary jars. "The stock is low, Captain. If those masters don't behave, should I blow the gates open, or will you use your 'charms' to distract them first?"
As she grumbled, she stuffed leftover phosphorus powder into bamboo tubes to make primitive flashbangs. She smirked: "If anyone tries to trip us up, I'll give them a lesson in 'Physical Salvation'."
Crimson Nine rapped the carriage frame through the curtain. "Save your dangerous ideas. If the tablet and code work, don't waste gunpowder. We want to recruit living soldiers, not rule over ruins."
"We're here," Yuning signaled for the convoy to stop.
At the end of the horizon, a fortress built of massive timber and rock appeared against the mountain. Under the setting sun, it didn't fly the flag of Great Qi. Instead, a blood-red banner with a snarling wolf's head snapped in the wind. This was the mark of the stockades after losing their General: "The Remnant Wolf."
"Who goes there! This is the Zhanchuan Forbidden Zone. One more step and you die!"
Chu Yuning took a deep breath, dismounted, and walked alone into the range of the archers who could easily turn him into a pincushion. He slowly raised the dark wooden tablet, his voice amplified by internal energy:
"I am Chu Yuning."
"The wooden tablet has no words; how does one find peace?"
Atop the wall, a bearded, one-eyed man snapped upright, staring at the tablet. The hand gripping his steel blade began to tremble. Silence fell over the valley, save for the whistling wind.
The tension at Azure Dragon Stockade reached a breaking point. Lei Wanjun stared down at the scruffy yet undeniably heroic youth.
"You claim to be the Third Young General? The Chu Army fell, and I personally went to that battlefield to retrieve the bodies! It was a mountain of our brothers' remains. How are you alive? Based on that piece of wood?"
Facing hundreds of heavy crossbows, Yuning didn't flinch. "Uncle Lei, a tablet can be forged, but the backbone of a Chu man cannot. When you followed my father into the East, you took a poisoned arrow in the back for him. The scar is still on your right shoulder blade. That day, my father carried you for thirty miles to snatch your life back from the Gates of Hell."
Lei Wanjun's body shook violently.
Yuning raised the tablet again, his voice thunderous: "The General has given the order; the four seas are our home!"
"...The four seas are our home," several older veterans on the wall murmured instinctively. It was a reaction etched into their very bones. Even after three years, hearing those words made their blood burn hot.
"Open the gates!" Lei Wanjun roared.
"Hold on!"
A cold-faced man in green robes stayed Lei Wanjun's hand. He was the Deputy Master installed over the last three years, code-named "Green Snake"—a pawn of Murong Xiao.
"Brother Lei, what if this is a spy from Great Qi or a trap from the Prince of Yan? Zhanchuan is unstable; we can't let them in just for a slogan." Green Snake looked down at Yuning with venom. "Since you claim to be the Chu successor, we do this by the old rules: 'Three Trials of the Remnant Wolf.' If you can reach Brother Lei alive, we will acknowledge you!"
Crimson Nine's eyes turned glacial. She saw the malice in the green-robed man.
"Captain, that guy is playing with fire," Blue Five whispered from the carriage, her hand touching a jar. "Should I give him a beautiful explosion?"
"Not yet." Crimson Nine rode forward to stand beside Yuning. "The stockade is divided. Third Brother must pass these trials. But no one said he couldn't be accompanied by 'family'."
She looked up at the wall, her voice carrying an unquestionable authority. "I am Chu Zhaoning, youngest daughter of the Chu family. I will enter the trials with my brother. Who dares object?"
The wall erupted in whispers. "That's... the eldest Chu Miss?"
Xiao Zhan rode up beside her, his black robes billowing. He said nothing, but the sheer royal pressure he exerted made Green Snake's heart skip a beat.
"Fine! Since the Chu heirs are both here, enter!" Green Snake sneered.
Trial One: The Forest of Arrows.
The gate creaked open, leading not to a hall, but to a narrow canyon. Archers lined the ridges above. This wasn't a test of defense, but of agility and synchronization.
"Go," Yuning grunted.
They charged into the canyon. Arrows fell like rain. Yuning's sword created a whirlwind of sparks, while Crimson Nine moved like a red swallow, her body twisting with a precision that defied logic. Her extreme spatial awareness made the veterans on the wall break into a cold sweat.
"That movement..." Lei Wanjun watched, awestruck. This wasn't the delicate lady of the rumors.
At the thickest point of the arrow rain, Crimson Nine slammed one of Blue Five's smoke bombs into the ground.
BANG!
A thick white shroud swallowed them. "We can't see them!" the archers panicked.
In the smoke, Crimson Nine whispered into Yuning's ear: "Third Brother, that man in green is Murong Xiao's spy. Once the first trial is over, kill him immediately. We don't need disloyal voices in our ears."
Yuning's eyes flashed with a killing intent as he nodded firmly.
On a distant peak, a pair of cold eyes watched through a telescope. Murong Xiao sat on a lounge, stroking a hunting hawk. "Chu Yuning, show me your value. Once you've tamed these wolves, I will take the men and the fortress together."