Cen Daoxi asked, “Your Highness, what if… we can’t find General Lin and General Wang?”

Chu Chengji dispatched people to search.

The best-case scenario would be that Lin Yao and Wang Biao were merely lost in the heart of the desert.

The worst-case scenario, undoubtedly, was that they had fallen into the hands of the Northern Barbarians.

If their bodies couldn’t be found, then they were likely taken back to the Northern Barbarian camp.

In response to Cen Daoxi’s question, Chu Chengji only said, “Three hundred years ago, Emperor Wu Jia was able to push the Northern Barbarians back a hundred li, and they dared not cross the Wushao River again. Today, I can do the same.”

Cen Daoxi didn’t say anything more, only bowing deeply to Chu Chengji.

The news that Lin Yao and Wang Biao hadn’t returned from the pursuit quickly spread throughout the army.

Lin Zhao, upon hearing that they had entered the desert in pursuit, rushed out of the pass to search for them, ignoring his injuries.

Chu Chengji, hearing the reports from the gatekeeper, rubbed his temples with a headache.

This was the first time Lin’s siblings had neglected military discipline since he had employed them.

Both Lin’s siblings were valiant generals, and Lin Zhao was also Qin Zheng’s close friend.

He didn’t want anything to happen to Lin Zhao at this critical moment.

Zhao Kui was the only fierce general under his command.

If they were to march to the Northern Barbarian camp, Zhao Kui would have to lead the troops.

Chu Chengji had no choice but to summon Cen Daoxi: “Lieutenant Lin is anxious for his brother and has gone out of the pass to search for General Lin. There is no one available in the army now. Mr. Cen, please lead the troops and bring Lieutenant Lin back.”

Cen Daoxi bowed and said, “I obey.”

These days, heavy snow outside the pass had not stopped, and the traces of the previous battles were quickly covered by the accumulating snow.

It was particularly difficult for the scouts sent to find Lin Yao and Wang Biao.

Lin Zhao made a whistle from a thin bamboo joint and traveled against the wind and snow, blowing the whistle all the way.

This whistle was a unique way of communication in the Mountains, sharp and extremely penetrating.

She braved the wind and snow for a day and a night, eating a few pieces of hard biscuits when hungry and grabbing handfuls of fresh snow when thirsty.

Because she kept blowing the whistle, her cheeks hurt every time she moved them.

When she felt she could no longer hold on, she tied herself to the horse with a rope to prevent herself from falling off.

Lin Zhao lay on the horse’s neck, brushing away the snowflakes on the horse’s mane with her hands, which were already numb from the cold. “Good horse, keep going north. My brothers must be there.”

Her mother was already gone, and she couldn’t afford to lose these two brothers as well.

In the Northern Barbarian camp, Lin Yao was awakened by a bucket of cold water.

His hands were suspended from two iron rings, his armor removed, and his dirty undershirt covered with bloodstains from being whipped.

Lin Yao struggled to open his eyelids, realizing he was in a mud-built cell.

As his consciousness returned, he recalled chasing into the desert to stop Wang Biao, but Wang Biao had been blinded by revenge for his mother’s death, and with the repeated provocations of the Northern Barbarian Prince, he was furious and couldn’t listen to his shouts.

As soon as the Northern Barbarian army entered the desert, they seemed to disappear, as if they had learned to vanish.

In no time at all, Lin Yao lost track of them.

When he was searching for a way out in the desert, he was ambushed and captured by the Northern Barbarian Prince.

“Biaozi?” Lin Yao’s throat was dry and hoarse.

Wang Biao was also suspended on the other side, covered in bloodstains, his eyes closed tightly, unconscious.

“Snap!”

A whip fell on Lin Yao’s body, deliberately targeting the areas where he already had wounds, causing blood to ooze from the whip marks that had only just scabbed over during the night.

“Can’t you see this princess standing right in front of you?” A pair of exquisite deerskin boots appeared in Lin Yao’s line of sight.

Lin Yao slowly raised his head and saw a barbarian girl with a fine whip in her hand, her head adorned with red tassels, wearing a red and blue robe, a golden knife hanging from her waist, and a blood-stained whip in her hand.

The girl exuded both wildness and arrogance.

She walked to Lin Yao’s side with her hands behind her back, carefully examining him, and then made a satisfied comment, “I heard you used to be a pretty formidable general, but now you’re just a slave brought back by my big brother.”

The girl used the rolled-up whip to lift Lin Yao’s chin, looking down at him and saying, “This princess has chosen you. When we get back, I’ll have my big brother send you to me. From now on, you will call me Mistress!”

Lin Yao turned his face away, coldly uttering a “Get lost.”

The girl didn’t get angry but instead seemed interested, saying, “I see you’re carrying such a big pearl in your arms. Do you have a sweetheart?”

She took out the pearl Lin Yao had taken from him, spread it out in her palm, and the pearl emitted a radiant luster.

Lin Yao’s temples throbbed. “Give it back.”

Tia raised her eyebrows, clasping the pearl in her palm. “I am your master, and everything about you belongs to me. Even if you have someone you care about, forget about it.”

She tossed away the whip in her hand, folded her hands behind her back, and left the cell with rather brisk steps.

Wang Biao’s injuries were worse than Lin Yao’s, and it took him an extra day to regain consciousness.

He had several large wounds from being hacked, and apart from using some gold medicine to stop the bleeding on the first day, the Northern Barbarians hadn’t given him any more medicine, seemingly content to just keep him alive.

A dark-skinned man, pale from blood loss, spoke as soon as he opened his mouth, “Big brother, I’m sorry…”

“If we’re brothers, stop saying these things,” Lin Yao said.

But Wang Biao couldn’t stop blaming himself, “I’ve dragged you down, big brother…”

“Save your energy to recover from your wounds!” Lin Yao said. “His Highness will come to rescue us.”

Wang Biao shook his head, “I can’t face His Highness again.”

Lin Yao said, “Whatever punishment we face when we return, we’ll face it.

As for Ah Zhao, in this world, we only have each other. You’re his brother too. If we both die outside this pass, what will happen to Ah Zhao?”

Wang Biao, a big man of seven feet, was choked up by Lin Yao’s words.

At this moment, there was a clattering sound from the wooden door, indicating that the person who brought their food had arrived.

Lin Yao and Wang Biao had been locked in this cell for several days now.

Since the self-proclaimed Northern Barbarian Princess named Tia hadn’t visited since then, every day only a dirty slave would come to feed them once.

Kadan bore a grudge for this defeat and wanted to humiliate them, so Lin Yao and Wang Biao had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves all in the cell.

They hadn’t even had their shackles removed.

Eating wasn’t too bad; the slave would scoop food into their mouths like livestock, using a large spoon.

The soup in the wooden bucket was often sour, and Lin Yao and Wang Biao had vomited the first few days, but later, to maintain their strength, they would eat even if it was rotten or smelly.

Initially, the guards at the door would come in and tease them like monkeys, but when they found that Lin Yao and Wang Biao completely ignored them and couldn’t speak Central Plains language like Kadan and Tia, they stopped bothering them.

Moreover, this cell used to be a cowshed, and there was straw everywhere, mixed with cow dung, giving off a strong odor.

The guards at the door were reluctant to come in and stare at the slaves feeding them once they realized Lin Yao and Wang Biao were obedient.

Relieving themselves was the most difficult part; Lin Yao and Wang Biao would wait until the slave came to feed them, then ask the slave to help them with the broken tiles in the corner.

This time, the slave who came to bring them food was not the male slave who had been bringing them food all along, but a Chu woman, carrying an indescribable smell, stronger than the smell of cow dung in this cowshed.

Even so, she showed a clear respect for Lin Yao and Wang Biao, and the soup she brought wasn’t rotten.

When she fed them, she also helped them wipe their faces and asked softly, “I heard that you two are generals from Beiting. Do you know a Southern Chu female general named Lin Zhao?”

After Lin Yao and Wang Biao exchanged glances, they replied, “We do. Who are you?”

The Chu woman choked up suddenly, but afraid of the guards at the door noticing anything, she suppressed her emotions, her hand holding the spoon trembling uncontrollably.

“I was originally a sergeant under General Lin Zhao’s command.

I disguised myself as a member of a caravan to sell a batch of gold and jade wares to subsidize military supplies in the Western Regions.

On the return journey, the caravan was raided by the Northern Barbarians.

All the men were killed, and the women were taken to the barbarian camp as slaves.

Ever since I arrived at the camp, I’ve been hoping for someone to bring back news to Great Chu and rescue us.”

Lin Yao and Wang Biao were both stunned.

When the military couldn’t pay its troops, Chu Chengji had excavated imperial tombs, and when Lin Zhao led the Niangzi Army north, she had also brought a batch of burial goods to the Western Regions.

However, the caravan that had gone into the Western Regions hadn’t returned for a long time, and after Chu Chengji took control of the Southern Region, he no longer lacked money.

Gradually, he also stopped waiting for news from the Western Regions.

Who would have thought that the caravan hadn’t returned because it had been attacked by the Northern Barbarians on the way back?

Lin Yao’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “How many people from the Niangzi Army are in the camp?”

The woman replied, “There are about twenty or thirty.”

Lin Yao said, “Lin Zhao is my sister. If I can leave this place in the future, I will definitely take the Niangzi Army back to Great Chu.”

The woman, upon hearing this, seemed unable to believe that someone from the Chu army had finally come for them.

She covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to cry out loud.

The guard outside grew impatient seeing the slave taking too long inside and urged in the Northern Barbarian language, “What are you doing in there?”

Lin Yao, with a handsome face, was seen by the guard as if the woman had other intentions towards him, sneered, “This is the one Princess Tia has taken a liking to. A stinky and dirty woman like her, be careful that Princess Tia doesn’t chop off all ten of your fingers!”

The woman, having traveled with the Hu merchants to the Western Regions, already knew some Hu language, and during these days in the Northern Barbarian camp, she had learned even more.

She understood what the guard was cursing about.

But she pretended not to understand, only showing a cowed look as if scolded, while quietly telling Lin Yao and Wang Biao, “I will pay attention to the news inside and outside the camp and try to help you generals escape.”

The guard glanced inside, seeing Lin Yao and Wang Biao both wearing their usual desolate expressions, without even a word of thanks.

After the woman finished tidying up the soup pot, covering most of her dirty face with her unkempt hair, she hunched over and limped out.

In the camp, there were wolves everywhere, and the status of Central Plains women was the lowest.

They not only had to do hard labor but could also be humiliated by any Northern Barbarian soldier.

Therefore, the women from the Niangzi Army disguised themselves as old and ugly, making themselves as dirty and untidy as possible.

They volunteered for dirty work that other slaves didn’t want to do, making themselves smell bad and look dirty to stay safe.

The guard at the door wrinkled his brow in disgust at the smell coming from her, “Hurry up and leave! You stink!”

After the woman with the soup pot left with a limp, the guard at the door locked the cell door again.

For several days in a row, that woman came to bring them food, and Lin Yao and Wang Biao learned a lot about the camp from her.

Although the Old Khan had not abdicated, he had already delegated half of his power to the Crown Prince Kadan.

As long as Kadan achieved military exploits, he could smoothly ascend the throne.

Unfortunately, this time, he suffered a defeat against Beiting, so there was controversy among the tribal leaders under the camp about letting Kadan ascend the throne.

The throne almost slipped from their hands, so it was no wonder Kadan harbored such deep hatred towards Lin Yao and Wang Biao.

When he thought about it, he wanted to torture them again.

Tia was Kadan’s sister from the same mother, also the most beloved daughter of the Old Khan, with a rather ruthless temperament.

Lin Yao was thinking of having the Niangzi Army gather information about Kadan and the other princes in the camp.

If they could sow discord and create chaos in the camp, they might be able to escape during the confusion.

However, on the fifth day, the person bringing food was replaced by a male slave.

Lin Yao and Wang Biao were worried that the Niangzi Army had been exposed, but they didn’t dare to ask the male slave about the whereabouts of the Niangzi Army, fearing to alert the enemy.

After finishing their meal, the male slave helped Lin Yao change into clean clothes.

Lin Yao didn’t understand his intentions, and before he could figure it out, the cell door was opened from the outside.

Tia entered.

She circled around Lin Yao, as if checking if her belongings had been tampered with.

Seeing that the scars on Lin Yao’s face from her whip had scabbed over, she reached out and peeled off the scabs:

“The things my princess likes, don’t even think about them. Even if this princess is tired of them, whoever dares to touch them, This princess can chop them off!

That stinky and dirty Chu slave dares to have thoughts about you, coming to bring you food every day. I’ll only break her other foot. That’s show’s my mercy.”

Fresh blood poured out from where the scabs had been torn off, staining Tia’s fingertips a beautiful red.

Her sharp nails continued to scratch downwards, “This princess wants to carve her name on your face. So even if you return to the Central Plains one day, you will be my l slave. With my name on your face, you won’t even think about seeing your beloved again…”

In the next moment, she screamed in pain.

Lin Yao’s hands and feet were bound with iron chains, unable to move.

He instinctively turned his head and fiercely bit down on Tia’s hand, with such force that the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

Lin Yao’s face was covered in blood from where Tia had scratched him, and his mouth was also covered in blood, but the blood in his mouth was from biting Tia.

He looked like a demon.

The guard outside heard Tia’s scream and hurried in, raining down blows on Lin Yao.

Lin Yao couldn’t help but vomit blood under the beating, then finally let go of Tia’s hand.

Tia held her hand, almost fainting from the pain, “My hand… my hand is going to break…”

Lin Yao spat out the blood in his mouth, “So dirty.”

Tia’s face twisted with a ferocious expression, threatening, “No one has ever dared to touch even a single finger of this princess. You will regret this.”

She had begged her eldest brother repeatedly, but he refused to give her this slave.

Otherwise, she had ways to make him wish for death but not be able to die.

Lin Yao didn’t take her threat seriously and sneered, “Even if you kill me, one day the iron hooves of Great Chu will trample down this camp.”

…

For three days after the biting incident, no one came to bring food to Lin Yao and Wang Biao.

Lin Yao was beaten almost to death by the Northern Barbarian soldiers, while Wang Biao watched on, his eyes filled with tears, calling out to him as “big brother.”

The Northern Barbarian soldiers were exhausted from beating him and sat down to rest.

It was only then that Lin Yao, weakly spitting out blood on the ground, said to Wang Biao, whose wrists were covered in blood, “Biaozi, if I can’t return to Great Chu, you must live on for me. You are my brother, and I only have one sister. I entrust her to you…”

“Big brother!” Wang Biao regretted deeply, crying bitterly, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pursued the enemy back then!”

The pain made Lin Yao’s vision blur, and he smiled with blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

He had many regrets.

He hadn’t been appointed as a marquis yet. He hadn’t even dared to offer the Eastern Pearl he had obtained.

The sky was a bluish-green mist, the umbrella was bluish-green, and the girl in the painting seemed to walk out of it…

At night, there were sudden dull thuds outside the cell door, followed by the light sound of iron chains shaking.

After a moment, the cell door opened, and several women with the same smell entered.

They whispered, “General, don’t be afraid. We’re here to rescue you.”

Lin Yao, beaten by the Northern Barbarian soldiers for days, covered in old and new wounds, found it difficult to walk.

He weakly asked, “Have you made contact with the reinforcements from Great Chu?”

But in his heart, he was calculating.

If His Highness had searched the vast desert and not found them, and if he sent someone to investigate in Beiting, it was unlikely they’d receive help so soon.

One of the women shook her head, “When Princess Tia took Sister Shikuai out to beat her in anger today, Sister Shikuai overheard Princess Tia and her brother quarreling. Kadan wants to move the camp south, taking advantage of the fact that the Great Chu forces are all at Qiuliu Pass.

The Northern Barbarians will directly advance from Liangzhou Prefecture southward, straight into the heartland of the Central Plains, bypassing Beiting.

Most of the garrison troops in the camp have already moved away.

Kadan plans to execute the two generals, but Princess Tia demanded you from him, and Kadan refused.

We are afraid they will harm the two generals, so we took the risk to come and rescue you tonight while the guards are weak.”

Shikuai was the woman who initially approached Lin Yao and Wang Biao.

Tia and Kadan thought she didn’t understand the Hu language, and since she was barely clinging to life after being beaten, they didn’t avoid her during their argument, which allowed her to hear so many secrets.

Lin Yao was shocked by this news, his head spinning.

He barely managed to ask, “Is Liangzhou Prefecture to the south now under Shen Yanzhi’s control? Is Shen Yanzhi colluding with the Northern Barbarians, or do the Northern Barbarians plan to directly attack Bianjing?”

The woman who spoke before said, “Kadan said something about making Shen Yanzhi and someone named Li fight each other.”

The Women’s Army was founded by Lin Zhao and Qin Zheng.

They also worried about Qin Zheng’s safety. “The Princess Consort is still in Jianghuai. If the Northern Barbarians cross Beiting and advance southward from Liangzhou Prefecture, will the Princess Consort be in danger?”

Lin Yao couldn’t suppress a few coughs, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

He said, “We must find a way to send a message back to Beiting and inform His Highness that the true goal of the Northern Barbarians is south of Liangzhou!”