Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

After a day's march, they reached the territory of Chongzhou.

Fan Changyu was heading to the military camp and couldn't keep bringing Changning along indefinitely.

Previously, while searching for Changning in Jizhou, she had assisted the local authorities in dismantling several mountain bandit dens that trafficked women and children. For this, she received a substantial reward. With the money, she rented a small courtyard in a nearby town and settled Changning there, hiring a simple and honest peasant woman to take care of her daily needs in exchange for wages.

As an extra precaution, she left Xie Qi behind, taking only Xie Wu with her to the military camp.

This was common among soldiers stationed outside the frontier for long periods. Most of them had families in the border towns and could reunite with them when not on duty.

Once everything was arranged, Fan Changyu was formally enlisted into the Jizhou army through Grand Tutor Tao's recommendation. Her previous feats—intercepting and killing three enemy scouts—were solid military merits in the eyes of the Jizhou army. Later, she had also slain the rebel general Shi Hu at First Line Gorge, making it easy for her to secure a rank.

However, on the way to the camp, Grand Tutor Tao suddenly asked her, "Girl, would you rather have a group of subordinates who obey you but aren’t close to you, or would you prefer to personally train a few reliable people of your own?"

Fan Changyu had witnessed the brutality of the battlefield. If not for those who were truly close, who would risk their lives to protect you?

The generals in the army had risen through the ranks—from squad leaders to platoon leaders—precisely because they had earned the trust of their soldiers and shared life-and-death bonds with them. It was this bond that made their troops charge fearlessly into battle alongside them.

Even when military power shifted, the rank-and-file soldiers were more inclined to stand with the generals they followed rather than obey the distant imperial authority.

Fan Changyu wasn’t particularly clever, but she wasn’t foolish either. She quickly weighed the pros and cons and answered, "On the battlefield, I need people I can trust with my back."

Her implication was clear—she chose the latter.

Grand Tutor Tao stroked his beard and smiled. "That aligns with my thoughts. You’re new to the army and unfamiliar with its workings. If you’re hastily given a high-ranking position without reliable subordinates, you’d only be a target of envy with an empty title. It’s better to keep a low profile, take things step by step, and build a solid foundation."

With these words, Fan Changyu realized that at best, she might start as a squad leader in the army.

Under the military system of Great Yin, five soldiers formed a squad, ten a platoon, five platoons a company, ten companies a battalion, and five battalions a regiment. A regiment had a minimum of 500 soldiers, though the upper limit was flexible.

Multiple regiments combined formed an army.

The military hierarchy was complex—some positions held both rank and real authority, some had rank but no power, and others had authority without official rank.

For example, the leader of a battalion, who commanded a hundred soldiers and was called a centurion, technically held no official rank but wielded considerable practical power.

On the battlefield, a hundred soldiers could accomplish much. Historically, many renowned generals had earned their fame as centurions by achieving remarkable feats in battle.

Fan Changyu was assigned to Tang Peiyi’s forces. After the previous defeat where the rebels flooded the area outside Lucheng, Tang Peiyi’s newly recruited army of 20,000 had suffered nearly 3,000 casualties during the rebels’ surprise attack on a rainy night. Another 1,000 had been dispatched with Grand Tutor Tao to deliver supplies to First Line Gorge, while Tang Peiyi led the remaining troops to besiege Chongzhou.Grand Tutor Tao led a thousand men who, after joining forces with reinforcements from Yanzhou at First Line Gorge and gaining experience through multiple engagements with the rebels under the guidance of Yanzhou veterans, had rapidly matured. The few hundred survivors who returned were now all battle-hardened soldiers.

Tang Peiyi intended to disperse these men and reassign them among new recruits to train the fresh troops.

After besieging Lucheng, he had clashed once with Prince Changxin's forces but suffered heavy losses. It wasn't until He Jingyuan arrived with reinforcements from Jizhou that he dared to relax.

With only ten thousand or so raw recruits left under his command, he couldn’t afford to keep them idle. Now that the main forces from Jizhou were holding the line, he wanted to train his new troops as quickly as possible.

When Grand Tutor Tao approached him to recommend Fan Changyu for enlistment, Tang Peiyi agreed without hesitation.

If not for Fan Changyu intercepting and killing those three scouts, Lucheng would have fallen, and he would have had to accept execution.

He said, "That young woman actually managed to kill Shi Hu—such ferocity is rare even among men! To have such talent under my command is truly my good fortune."

But Grand Tutor Tao replied, "Jade must be polished to become a gem. Let her temper herself further first."

When Fan Changyu was assigned to the ranks, she discovered she hadn’t started as a common soldier or even a squad leader—she was directly appointed as a Squad Leader, commanding forty-nine men. Xie Wu, to her surprise, was assigned to her unit.

The soldiers under her command, realizing their Squad Leader was a delicate-looking young woman, began whispering among themselves.

"What’s a woman doing in the army?"

Fan Changyu’s immediate superior, Guo Baihu, was a burly, bearded brute—tall and imposing like an iron tower. The officers leading the new recruits had all been transferred from Jizhou’s regular army.

When he learned one of his Squad Leaders was a woman, he nearly choked on his anger. Right in front of the troops, he sneered, "Some general’s precious daughter must be here to chase glory again. Why not just make her a captain and surround her with layers of bodyguards? Throwing her into my unit—if she so much as scrapes her knee, my decades of service will be for nothing!"

His words were meant to put Fan Changyu in her place. A thin-skinned person, publicly humiliated like this, would likely quit on the spot.

This was exactly the outcome Guo Baihu hoped for. After all, whether it was a general’s daughter or some high official’s son sent to "gain experience," none of them wanted to deal with such burdens.

You couldn’t discipline them, couldn’t scold them, and on the battlefield, you’d have to risk your life protecting them.

If they got hurt, there’d be hell to pay—let alone the fact that battlefields were unpredictable, and death was commonplace. If anything happened to them, the higher-ups would demand heads, and the entire unit would suffer.

So when noble sons were sent to the army for "training," the generals had an unspoken rule: give them an empty title, set up a tent for them, and assign bodyguards to protect the little treasures.

No need for merit—just avoid mistakes.

Once their "training" was done, they’d be credited with a few insignificant achievements and sent back unharmed. That was the ideal outcome.

As for the daughters of military families who came for experience, most did know martial arts and had passion in their hearts—but they were too naive. Killing a few people was nothing compared to the hellish reality of war.These daughters of military families, often the treasured pearls of their generals, were never allowed to face any real danger on the battlefield. More often than not, the number of enemies they killed paled in comparison to the common soldiers who died protecting them.

Thus, during actual battles, the high-ranking generals seldom permitted these young women from military families to participate in combat.

As for those useless young masters, they were even less worth mentioning.

The only descendants of military families who truly earned the respect of the common soldiers were those who rose through the ranks step by step, relying on genuine military achievements.

The army did not conscript female soldiers, which was why Guo Baihu naturally assumed Fan Changyu had enlisted through connections. Being a martial artist himself, he could tell from her steady breathing that she was trained. This only fueled his anger further, as he suspected she was trying to emulate those descendants of military families who started from the bottom.

He couldn’t care less about others’ lofty ambitions, but if those ambitions might get him and his men killed needlessly on the battlefield, he despised them.

Unaware of these underlying sentiments, Fan Changyu remained composed even as Guo Baihu openly challenged her. There was no trace of embarrassment on her face as she stood there confidently.

She had no reason to be upset over others’ misunderstandings.

Xie Wu spoke up for her: "Squad Leader Fan fought at First Line Gorge. She killed Shi Hu and earned her place in the ranks through real military merit."

At this, murmurs erupted among the troops.

Since enlisting, they had all heard of Shi Hu’s fearsome reputation—a monster who delighted in devouring raw flesh and drinking human blood, whose spiked hammers had claimed no fewer than eight hundred lives.

Could this slender young woman before them, clad in the uniform of Jizhou’s soldiers, really have killed Shi Hu?

Guo Baihu scrutinized Fan Changyu anew, as if gauging whether she truly possessed the courage to slay Shi Hu.

Someone who had seen Fan Changyu carrying rocks during the dam construction immediately shouted, "I know Squad Leader Fan! When she was working on the dam upstream in Jizhou, she carried stones weighing over three hundred jin down the mountain without breaking a sweat!"

With such concrete evidence, the soldiers’ gazes toward Fan Changyu grew even more reverent.

Xie Wu wanted to mention her bear-hunting exploits, but since he hadn’t witnessed it himself, it might sound like boasting. Seeing the troops’ newfound respect for Fan Changyu, he swallowed his words.

Guo Baihu asked Fan Changyu, "What weapon are you skilled with?"

After a moment’s thought, she replied, "A butcher’s knife."

A few soldiers couldn’t suppress their muffled laughter.

Guo Baihu’s expression darkened. "You go into battle with a butcher’s knife?" he barked.

Fan Changyu nodded honestly.

Another wave of stifled laughter rippled through the crowd.

Guo Baihu was now thoroughly incensed. Convinced she couldn’t possibly have killed Shi Hu, he assumed someone had fabricated the achievement to bolster her reputation—a common enough practice.

He no longer cared about sparing her dignity. "Fine!" he roared, clenching his fists like sandbags, his brutish aura flaring. "Let’s see what your butcher’s knife can do! Come on!"

The soldiers, never expecting such excitement on the first day of reorganization, erupted in cheers and shouts of encouragement.

The commotion drew the attention of the generals on the platform.

Tang Peiyi asked, "What’s going on over there?"Fan Changyu's formation was positioned at the very rear of the drill ground. From the high platform, one could only see a dense block of shadowy figures standing in neat squares, making it impossible to discern what was happening at the back.

A personal guard immediately responded, "This subordinate will go and check."

No sooner had he left than another guard arrived to report, "General, a visit from Young Master Li!"

Tang Peiyi asked, "Which Young Master Li?"

The guard wiped his sweat and replied, "Grandson of Grand Tutor Li—Young Master Li Huaian!"

Tang Peiyi immediately glanced at Grand Tutor Tao. Grand Tutor Li had assumed his position two years after Tao's resignation. Though he led the Qingliu faction, half the court officials were his disciples, making him a figure who seemed poised to rival Wei Yan.

He remarked, "After the Wu'an Marquis went to Kangcheng to suppress the remnants of the rebels, the court's military provisions were delivered by water. Li Huaian also serves as the Army Supervisor and has come to verify the provisions. He should be seeking Lord He, yet he’s come to me instead—likely for the Grand Tutor’s sake. Will you see him, Grand Tutor?"

Grand Tutor Tao merely smiled. "Since this young man knows I’m here, avoiding him today won’t help tomorrow. Let’s meet him. I’d like to see what kind of child that old man Li has raised."

Tang Peiyi then instructed the guard, "Bring him over."

In moments, Li Huaian, dressed in a pale blue scholar’s robe, was escorted over by the guards.

Like Gongsun Yin, he was a scholar, but his features were plainer in comparison. Yet, he resembled a cup of mild tea—subtle at first but growing more refined with time. His uniquely upright and gentle demeanor made him seem like the most refined disciple at a sage’s side.

His eyes immediately landed on the silver-haired Grand Tutor Tao. With a respectful bow, he greeted warmly, "This one pays respects to the Grand Tutor."

His gaze then shifted to Tang Peiyi beside him, and he added, "And to the General."

Given Grand Tutor Tao’s seniority and former rank, it was natural for him to address Li Huaian first. Smiling at the young man before him, he said, "You resemble your grandfather in his youth. At first glance, this old man almost thought he had somehow grown younger over the years."

It was unclear whether this was mere jest or carried deeper meaning.

Li Huaian simply smiled faintly and replied, "Grandfather’s health has declined in recent years. He cannot match the Grand Tutor’s vigor."

Grand Tutor Tao stroked his beard and chuckled. "This old man enjoys leisure. With so many beautiful mountains and rivers yet unseen, and no burdens on my shoulders, of course I’m more carefree than your grandfather."

Li Huaian said, "It is only because the Grand Tutor knew when to step back. Grandfather often says that if he could possess even half of your wisdom, he would be content in this life."

Grand Tutor Tao’s smile remained, the deep wrinkles on his face creasing further as he joked, "That old man grows less content with age. With disciples filling half the court, is his knowledge still not enough?"

Li Huaian maintained his polite smile, his tone still gentle. "Half the court’s officials still pale in comparison to pillars of the state like the Wu'an Marquis."

Tang Peiyi was a rough man, but having risen to his position, he was no fool. The more he listened to their exchange, the stranger it seemed. Just as he was considering whether to interject and steer the conversation elsewhere, the guard he had sent out earlier came running back, panting heavily.

The guard saluted and reported, "General, it’s a hundred-household officer and his female squad engaged in a martial contest!"

Li Huaian looked surprised. "General Tang has women serving under his command?"Fan Changyu had been recommended to join the army by Grand Tutor Tao. Tang Peiyi was unsure whether to temporarily conceal this fact when he heard thunderous cheers erupt from the rear of the military formation.

Li Huaian glanced in that direction, seemingly intrigued. "Can we observe the martial arts competition in the army?"

There was no rule prohibiting spectators, and Tang Peiyi couldn't fabricate one on the spot. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Yes."

The deafening cheers erupted when Fan Changyu executed a perfect shoulder throw, sending Guo Baihu flying.

Guo Baihu had challenged her bare-handed, and she couldn't exactly bully him—after all, the last person who'd fought her one-handed while she wielded a boning knife was Xie Zheng.

The fall was solid. Guo Baihu clutched his waist, grimacing as he staggered to his feet. Glaring at Fan Changyu standing nearby, he growled, "I'm better with a blade than fists. Dare to pick up a weapon and fight me again?"

Changyu agreed readily. "Sure."

Soon, a weapon rack was brought forward.

Guo Baihu selected a Yanyue blade. Changyu was also most skilled with long-handled sabers, but considering the crowd, she didn’t want to embarrass Guo Baihu too badly.

After some thought, she picked up two massive iron hammers.

The hammers had short handles and, unlike blades, wouldn’t leave gashes with a single slash. If she held back her strength, she could exchange a few more moves with him.

Unbeknownst to her, her slender frame—smaller than most men’s—paired with her gentle, harmless expression while wielding two heavy hammers created an utterly bizarre sight.

Guo Baihu swung his blade with a fierce whoosh, bellowing as he charged. Changyu didn’t engage at first, dodging instead.

Seeing her nimble movements despite the hammers, Guo Baihu’s confidence wavered. Frustrated, he barked, "Stop dodging! Take my strike!"

Changyu obliged. When the blade came crashing down toward her face, the watching soldiers gasped in horror.

Xie Wu, though confident in her skills, kept a close eye on every move. If danger arose, he’d intervene immediately.

Guo Baihu realized too late that his strike was unstoppable, and Changyu wasn’t even attempting to block. Cold sweat drenched his back—whether she was the general’s daughter or not, her presence here meant powerful backing. Killing her accidentally would be the end of him.

A deafening clang rang out, stinging eardrums.

The descending blade was caught between the two hammers, halted mid-air.

Guo Baihu’s hands trembled violently from the impact, his palms numb and aching. Sweat poured down his forehead.

Those nearby saw how Changyu had trapped the blade with the hammers, but those farther back doubted such a strike could be stopped so easily. Murmurs spread.

"Is Guo Baihu going easy on her because she’s pretty?"

"Losing face for a beauty’s favor? I’d do the same!"

Then, Changyu released the hammers.Sandwiched in between, the blade of Guo Baihu's broadsword shattered like ice, tinkling as the fragments scattered across the ground.

Silence fell instantly both inside and outside the training grounds.

Even the soldier who had earlier suspected Guo Baihu of going easy on her swallowed hard with difficulty.

To shatter a descending broadsword with a single hammer strike—what kind of monstrous strength did that require?

Amid the pin-drop silence outside the training field, applause suddenly rang out. Fan Changyu turned her head to see Grand Tutor Tao, Tang Peiyi, and a group of officers approaching, with Li Huaian among them.

As the commanding general and with this being the training grounds, it was Tang Peiyi's place to speak. He praised, "An impressive display! A reward is in order!"

The soldiers cheered for Fan Changyu, who had previously observed military salutes during her time in the army. She clasped her fists in imitation and said, "This humble officer thanks the general!"

Li Huaian, recognizing her, seemed genuinely surprised. "I wondered which of General Tang's female officers could be so formidable. So it's Miss Fan."

Fan Changyu had no idea why he was in Chongzhou but remembered he was an official. She saluted him properly, addressing him, "Lord Li."

Not only Grand Tutor Tao but even Tang Peiyi looked puzzled. "You two know each other?"

Li Huaian smiled gracefully. "Miss Fan once saved my life."

Fan Changyu quickly replied, "It was nothing more than a small favor."

Xie Wu, who had been among the hundred cavalrymen Xie Zheng brought back to Qingping County, clearly remembered Fan Changyu protecting Li Huaian. Watching Li Huaian's subtly ambiguous attitude toward her now, he suddenly frowned deeply.

Li Huaian wasn't at all surprised by Fan Changyu's reserved politeness. Ever since she learned his identity and sought his help in investigating the records of her parents' deaths, she had addressed him respectfully as "Lord Li" without fail.

He said, "What a fortunate coincidence this journey has been. When you left alone for Chongzhou, saying you were searching for your younger sister, you left an Aunt Zhao at the Jizhou Prefecture office. When I set out for Chongzhou, the old woman, worried about you, begged me to bring her here to find you."

Half stunned, half delighted, Fan Changyu exclaimed, "Aunt Zhao?"

Li Huaian nodded with a smile. "She's currently staying where I'm lodged."

The military had just finished reorganizing the rosters that day, and no drills were scheduled, so soldiers could request leave for the afternoon.

After the reorganization concluded, Fan Changyu requested half a day's leave to bring Aunt Zhao back to the courtyard she had rented.

Xie Wu naturally took leave to accompany her.

As the two boarded the Li family's carriage, Li Huaian looked at Xie Wu, his expression still warm and amiable, and asked without malice, "Might I ask who this young man is?"

Fan Changyu was starting from the bottom ranks in the army, and as a woman in the military, she already faced enough scrutiny. Revealing her connection to Xie Zheng would only make things harder for her. Though Xie Wu wanted this smiling fox to back off, he knew better than to cause trouble for Fan Changyu. Stiffly, he replied, "I'm my squad leader's personal attendant!"

Hearing this, Li Huaian chuckled lightly, his demeanor still nothing but gentle and harmless. To Fan Changyu, he said, "Congratulations, Miss Fan. With your martial prowess, you're bound to achieve great things in the army."

Fan Changyu replied, "I only hope for peace in the world."

When they finally met Aunt Zhao, the old woman took one look at Fan Changyu in her military uniform and, upon learning she had joined the army, burst into tears, hugging her tightly.Xie Wu followed them the entire way. Wherever Li Huaian was, he was there too. Li Huaian noticed the young man's inexplicable hostility toward him but still responded with nothing more than a polite smile.

Fan Changyu took Aunt Zhao back to the small courtyard she had rented. Since it was quite a distance and the surrounding towns had been devastated by war, making it impossible to borrow a carriage, Li Huaian offered to have his coachman take them part of the way.

On the way back, Xie Wu sat outside with the coachman while Fan Changyu and Aunt Zhao chatted inside the carriage, catching up on what had happened during their time apart.

Xie Wu kept his ears perked the entire time, afraid to miss even a single word about that Li fellow.

When they arrived at the small courtyard, Changning, who hadn’t seen Aunt Zhao in a long time, let out a loud cry and threw herself into Aunt Zhao’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Aunt Zhao, recalling the terror of Changning’s disappearance, couldn’t help but cry as well.

Fan Changyu was busy comforting the young and the old, while Xie Wu exchanged a glance with Xie Qi. Seizing the chance while preparing dinner in the kitchen, he quickly told Xie Qi about their encounter with Li Huaian that day. “Tonight, you write a letter and have the Gyrfalcon deliver it to the Marquis,” he said.

Kneading the dough in the basin with extra force, he added indignantly, “That pretty boy has designs on our lady!”