Mo Li

Ignoring the curious gazes of the crowd, Ye Li calmly tucked the pistol back into her sleeve and smiled, "We should go now. If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be surrounded." Everyone glanced at the Western Liang soldiers rushing toward them from below and decisively packed up to leave. The mountain path was on the other side, and they had already prepared swift horses at the foot of the mountain. By the time those soldiers circled around, they would have long since galloped far away on their steeds.

After leaving the cliff, the group rode at full speed and only relaxed once they reached the base of Flying Goose Pass. Feng Zhiyao couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and the others also wore expressions of exhilaration. Ever since Mo Xiuyao had gone missing, although the army had remained orderly, there was still an undercurrent of unease, inevitably casting a shadow over morale. Today, however, was the most liberating they had felt in a long time.

Han Mingyue glanced at Ye Li and asked quietly, "Wang Fei, could you lend me that... hidden weapon for a moment?"

"Hidden weapon?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow and casually handed the pistol over. Han Mingyue thanked her before carefully accepting it, too impatient to wait until they returned to the residence and began examining it as they walked. Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingxi also craned their necks to look. However, when it came to such things, they were far less knowledgeable than Han Mingyue, so they didn’t rush to snatch it. Only Qin Feng, who had been following Ye Li all along, showed no surprise. Not only had he seen these items before, but he also knew where they came from, so he lacked the others’ curiosity. Still, after witnessing the weapon’s lethality in Wang Fei’s hands today, he couldn’t help feeling eager to try it himself.

Han Mingyue frowned in thought, his fingers continuously exploring the object in his hands. He even mimicked Ye Li’s posture, trying to figure out where the mechanism was. When the dark muzzle turned toward him, Feng Zhiyao broke out in a cold sweat. Though he didn’t know what this thing was, he hadn’t forgotten that whatever had injured Lei Zhenting had definitely shot out from that little black hole. He quickly dodged aside and warned, "Han Mingyue, be careful!"

Han Mingyue smirked and raised an eyebrow. "It’s useless." He had already found the trigger, but pulling it produced no result. Knowing this wasn’t the time to discuss it, he didn’t ask Ye Li any questions and simply toyed with it in his hands.

As soon as they entered the residence, Han Mingyue promptly returned the pistol to Ye Li, while the others stared at her expectantly. With a faint smile, Ye Li inserted a black magazine into the pistol, released the safety, and fired a shot into the sky.

Bang!

A sparrow fell from the air. Upon closer inspection, the small bird had two bloody holes in its body. Clearly, the hidden weapon had passed straight through the sparrow.

"An excellent weapon!" Han Mingyue praised. While hitting a sparrow with a pebble would be no challenge for someone of his martial prowess, he could tell that the speed of this hidden weapon far surpassed that of ordinary ones—even rivaling the arrows of the Black Cloud Cavalry’s finest archers. More importantly, such a weapon seemed to place no demands on the user’s internal strength or physical condition; accuracy alone was enough.Ye Li shook her head and said, "It's too loud." Advanced weapons were out of the question, and things like silencers couldn't be resolved anytime soon. So if they wanted to carry out a night raid, this thing was less useful than a bow and arrow. However... a trace of nostalgia flickered in Ye Li's eyes. When she first regained her memories, she had never imagined she would encounter this thing again in this lifetime, even though it could have been sent to a museum as an antique in her previous life.

"Wang Fei, may I give it a try?" Han Mingyue asked. Young Master Mingyue was erudite and naturally had a great interest in the unknown.

Ye Li casually handed it over. Han Mingyue glanced around, aimed at a lantern hanging under the eaves, and pulled the trigger. With a loud bang, the lantern remained in place, but the bullet embedded itself into the wall beside it.

"Hahaha!" Feng Zhiyao couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Han Mingyue, have your skills gotten rusty over the years?"

Han Mingyue, being exceptionally intelligent, had already figured out the problem after one try. Without explaining, he handed the pistol to Feng Zhiyao and said with a smile, "Third Master Feng is also a renowned archer. Why not give it a try?" Feng Zhiyao shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine, I'll try!"

"Bang!" The white lantern still swayed gently in the breeze, but Feng Zhiyao's face twisted in frustration. Ye Li took the pistol back and said with a faint smile, "This indeed doesn't require internal energy or physical strength. However... there is a bit of recoil. So... mastering it still takes some effort." Did these people really think that just because they were accurate with hidden weapons, they could hit a bullseye the first time they picked up a gun?

"Jun Wei... Jun Wei, we're such good friends... could you give me one?" Han Mingxi's eyes lit up as he gazed at Ye Li pleadingly. This thing might not mean much to other highly skilled martial artists, but for someone like Han Mingxi—whose Light Body Skill was first-rate, internal energy second-rate, and martial arts third-rate—it was practically a divine weapon.

Ye Li glanced at him sideways and casually tossed the pistol over. "Go find Qin Feng later and have him teach you how to use it. Be careful... if this hits a vital spot, it's far more troublesome than an arrow or a hidden weapon." This was no exaggeration. Even if it didn't hit a vital spot, just striking the body could be disastrous. If the bullet passed through, it would leave a hole, but if it remained inside, extracting it would be a nightmare. As for post-injury infections, due to the trace gunpowder in bullets and the depth of the wound, the risk of infection was dozens—if not hundreds—of times higher than with ordinary blades.

Han Mingxi had seen the weapon's power and naturally held it with utmost caution.

Seeing how easily Han Mingxi had obtained such a precious hidden weapon, Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingyue were also tempted. "Wang Fei..."Ye Li felt a slight tingling on her scalp and sighed helplessly, "Don't ask me about it. Only three of these things have been made so far. It'll take some time before more are available." Of course, there were many defective ones, but she dared not give those to Feng Zhiyao and the others—misfires could be troublesome. Ye Li estimated that within two or three years, pistols of the current standard could be mass-produced, and perhaps even improved. She wasn't entirely sure whether introducing firearms ahead of time into this era of cold weapons was the right move. But since she already had these in hand, along with the foundation left by the previous dynasty's founding emperor, she couldn't just ignore them. The transition from cold weapons to firearms was, after all, an inevitable trend in human progress. Being one step ahead wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Unable to get their hands on the weapons, Feng Zhiyao and Han Mingyue were somewhat disappointed, though they understood there was no other choice. They could only make Ye Li promise to prioritize them when more were ready. Ye Li had no choice but to agree.

Han Mingxi glanced at his elder brother and reluctantly offered his newly acquired treasure to Han Mingyue. "Big brother, you can play with it first." Han Mingyue took it, twirled the pistol in his hand, and fired another shot. Young Master Mingyue had always been quick to grasp new concepts, and this time, his shot happened to hit a lantern hanging from the eaves.

Feng Zhiyao frowned. "This thing is way too loud." If it could be completely silent, it would be the perfect tool for assassination, arson, ambushes, and sneak attacks. From Feng Zhiyao's perspective, if someone fired suddenly at close range or if multiple people fired simultaneously, even a master like Lei Zhenting would find it hard to escape unscathed.

Ye Li raised an eyebrow. Silencers did exist—they just couldn't be made yet.

Hearing Feng Zhiyao's words, Han Mingyue lowered his head, deep in thought as he examined the weapon in his hand.

"By the way, we still don't know what this hidden weapon is called," Han Mingxi remarked. Such an astonishing weapon absolutely deserved a grand and impressive name.

Unfortunately, Ye Li's answer disappointed him greatly. "This is called... a gun. A pistol."

"A gun?! How does this thing resemble a spear?" Feng Zhiyao was the first to object. Spears were the king of weapons, especially on the battlefield. Even though Mo Xiuyao mostly used swords now, in his youth, he had wielded a silver coiling dragon spear that struck fear into enemy troops. Ye Li smiled. "Well, it's a gun." She waved her hand, signaling an end to the discussion. She had no intention of giving her precious invention some bizarre name.

Without giving Feng Zhiyao a chance to argue, Ye Li waved and walked away. The gunshots they had just fired were bound to attract attention, and she didn't want to be swarmed by a crowd. Han Mingyue, meanwhile, was fiddling with the weapon in his hand, his expression suggesting he wanted to dismantle it for study. Unlike Feng Zhiyao, he had no attachment to weapon names. Whether Ye Li called it a gun or a sword, it made no difference to him—as long as it worked.Ignoring Feng Zhiyao's protests, Han Mingyue cradled the newly acquired weapon and walked away without looking back, leaving only Han Mingxi and Feng Zhiyao staring at each other in bewilderment. After a long pause, Feng Zhiyao finally asked, "Do you think the name is reliable?"

Han Mingxi grinned at him and said, "I've never used the 'gun' you mentioned, so I think... Wang Fei's chosen name must be very fitting."

Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes faintly—he shouldn't have asked Han Mingxi. Aside from his elder brother, Han Mingxi was most obedient to Wang Fei's words.

Seeing his devastated expression, Han Mingxi patted his shoulder reassuringly. "The name doesn't matter. If Wang Fei calls her hidden weapon a 'gun,' does that mean your gun isn't a gun anymore?" Thus, from start to finish, Ye Li had forgotten to tell them—that it wasn't a hidden weapon.

Twenty li outside Flying Goose Pass, the Western Liang army camp had just suffered a bizarre attack from Prince Ding's Estate. Even the peerlessly skilled Lei Zhenting had been severely injured, leaving the once-ferocious Western Liang army like a goose suddenly choked by the neck, utterly stifled. Uncertain whether the Mo Family Army still possessed such strange weapons, the Western Liang forces dared not station themselves too close to Flying Goose Pass and had to retreat another ten li.

Inside the military camp, in Lei Zhenting's tent, his shoulder had been bared as several physicians frowned over his condition. There was a small but deep bloody hole just below his right shoulder, leaving the highly skilled doctors at a loss. If it had been an arrow or a hidden weapon, it would have been simpler—arrows could be pulled out directly, and hidden weapons usually didn't penetrate too deeply. However, Zhennan Wang's wound had burrowed deep into his body, narrowly missing his shoulder blade. Worse still, though they couldn't see what the hidden weapon was, they could sense it must be small and not particularly sharp-edged. Extracting it without harming Zhennan Wang would be extremely difficult.

Another method was to use inner energy to force the hidden weapon out. But the only person in the army with such profound inner energy was Lei Zhenting himself. And Lei Zhenting's left arm... had been severed by Mo Liufang over twenty years ago. Even if the injury had been on his left shoulder, he wouldn't have been able to raise his hand to expel the hidden weapon from his back. One wrong move, and bones that hadn't been damaged before would truly be injured.

Lei Zhenting remained composed, frowning as he stared at the bloody hole below his shoulder, showing no sign of pain. "What do you think?" he asked.

After some thought, one of the physicians stepped forward and said, "We are incompetent, Your Highness. We have never seen such a hidden weapon before."

"What if we forcibly extract it?" Lei Zhenting asked.

The physician replied cautiously, "Given Your Highness's formidable martial prowess, if we forcibly remove it... with proper recuperation, there should be no major issues. However... I fear Your Highness's right hand may be unusable for several months..." He left the rest unsaid, knowing Zhennan Wang understood his meaning. With only one arm left, if his right hand were also immobilized, wouldn't that render him practically useless?

Lei Zhenting's expression darkened. After a long silence, he finally asked, "What if we leave it in for now?""Absolutely not!" The physician quickly interjected, "Your Highness must not do this. Although we have yet to determine what this hidden weapon is made of, leaving it inside the body is undoubtedly harmful. Not only could this foreign object cause damage to the body, but the wound is also too deep and may lead to internal suppuration. In the end... Your Highness might lose all mobility in the shoulder. Or even... face death."

Though speaking so bluntly to Lei Zhenting put immense pressure on the physician, if Zhennan Wang were to die due to improper treatment, they would face even worse consequences. Thus, despite Lei Zhenting's piercing gaze, the other physicians unanimously echoed the first physician's opinion.

Lei Zhenting remained silent for a long while. He was a decisive man, unshaken even in such dire circumstances. After swiftly assessing the situation in his mind, he finally asked, "What if we forcibly remove it now...?"

"We will do our utmost," the physicians chorused.

Lei Zhenting sighed and said, "Then proceed." It wasn't that he didn't want to explore other options, but in this world, few possessed the ability to expel the hidden weapon from his body using pure inner energy without causing further harm. Originally, he himself was one such person, along with Mo Xiuyao, Ling Tiehan, and Mu Qingcang. Others, like the former Dongfang You, Ren Qining, and Han Mingyue, might also have been able to attempt it. Yet, at this moment, he could neither find nor seek any of them.

Waving the physicians away to prepare, Lei Zhenting sighed alone in his tent. To suffer such a severe injury right after mobilizing his troops—Ye Li, this prince underestimated you. Unconsciously, an ominous feeling crept into his heart.

Meanwhile, Lei Zhenting was surrounded by physicians attempting to extract the bullet. Though skilled in medicine, they had never encountered such a weapon before. The bullet was deeply embedded in his flesh, nearly touching the bone. Lacking experience, they proceeded with extreme caution. Eventually, they succeeded in removing the bullet from Lei Zhenting's shoulder, but the procedure worsened his injury. It would take at least three to five months of recovery, and even then, he might be left with lingering aftereffects. At the very least, Lei Zhenting would likely fall to the bottom of the ranks among the world's top four martial artists.

The Western Liang Army, poised to storm the city, suddenly retreated after a series of deafening explosions, leaving behind only bloodshed and corpses. This baffled the defenders of Flying Goose Pass. At the general's residence, Ye Li was cornered by the veteran general Yuan Pei. After hearing her account of the events, Yuan Pei burst into laughter. "Marvelous! Heaven truly aids the Mo Family Army!"

Feng Zhiyao rolled his eyes. "Old Yuan, what do you mean 'heaven aids'? It was clearly Wang Fei's doing." If heaven had truly favored Prince Ding's Estate, they wouldn't have faced such misfortune and hardship over the years.Yuan Pei stroked his white beard and chuckled repeatedly, "Excellent, excellent. We truly owe it all to Wang Fei. Wang Fei, that... those bombs and gunpowder things, do we have any more left?" Ye Li shook her head regretfully, "Today's attack used up all our stockpile from the past two years." It must be understood that to kill over ten thousand people in one go, even in modern times, would require a considerable amount. Not to mention the Western Mausoleum Army's camp was located on flat terrain with no cover—it was purely a direct explosion using gunpowder. With current technology, if they were made into something like grenades, one might kill two people at best. Grouping them together and igniting them directly would yield greater destructive power.

Feng Zhiyao said, "The fact that Lei Zhenting can't personally take to the battlefield is always advantageous for us." At the very least, today's events would undoubtedly shatter the morale of the Western Mausoleum Army, and it would be difficult for them to recover in the short term.

Ye Li smiled and nodded, "Indeed. In that case, everyone should prepare well. The defense of Flying Goose Pass will be entrusted to you all."

The officers rose and responded, "We obey your orders!"

On another front, Leng Huai and Lyu Jinxian, who had originally been stationed in Changxing of the former Chu Jing, joined forces outside the city of Liyang, where Mo Jingli's army was garrisoned. After Mo Xiuyao's death, the entire battlefield began shifting northwest, and the once-strategically vital Hangu Pass was now completely ignored. Mo Jingli blocked the path in Liyang, attempting to cut off the Mo Family Army's advance, while Leng Huai and Lyu Jinxian urgently sought to return to Flying Goose Pass to reinforce Prince Ding's Estate. Neither side was willing to yield, resulting in several battles of varying scales over just a few days, with casualties on both sides. In the end, Mo Jingli simply shut the city gates and refused to engage. After all, his goal wasn't to annihilate Lyu Jinxian and Leng Huai—as long as he held Liyang firmly and prevented them from passing, he would already have won.

This tactic of avoiding battle was even more infuriating to Lyu Jinxian and Leng Huai than a direct confrontation. Siege warfare was inherently time-consuming—the Northern Army had previously besieged Zijing Pass for half a year without success, and the later assault on Chu Jing had lasted over three months. But what they lacked most now was time. Even though Leng Huai and Lyu Jinxian were both calm and composed individuals, they couldn't help but inwardly curse Mo Jingli for his underhanded tactics.

Inside the commander's tent of the Mo Family Army, Lyu Jinxian paced back and forth with a furrowed brow, while Leng Huai, He Su, and others sat nearby, their expressions equally grim. Leng Huai set down his teacup and sighed, "General Lü, please stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."

Lyu Jinxian paused, then reluctantly sat back down. With a heavy expression, he said, "In just half a month, Lei Zhenting has already led tens of thousands of troops toward Flying Goose Pass. Moreover, reinforcements are continuously being sent north from the Western Liang border. I'm truly worried..." Worried that Wang Fei wouldn't be able to hold out.

Aside from the elderly General Yuan Pei, all the commanders at Flying Goose Pass were young. Though General Yuan Pei was a seasoned warrior, he was already over seventy—how could they not be concerned?

Leng Huai said, "If Flying Goose Pass truly can't hold, Wang Fei will surely recall Marquis Nan and General Murong. That would buy us some time. What we must do is break through Liyang as quickly as possible. Otherwise... even if Flying Goose Pass falls now, we'd still be stuck here, helpless."

"Mo Jingli has been acting like a coward these past few days—no matter how much we provoke him, he refuses to come out. What can we do about it?" Yun Ting fumed. Of course, his anger was directed at Mo Jingli, who was holed up in the city, unwilling to engage in battle.Xu Qingfeng frowned and said, "How about I lead a team to infiltrate the city? We can coordinate from inside and out..."

Lyu Jinxian shook his head. "No, Liyang City is inherently easy to defend and hard to attack. Moreover... there are 800,000 troops stationed there. Mo Jingli isn’t short on manpower right now. Although the Qilin are formidable, sneaking in too many people would likely accomplish little." If an army of 800,000 guarding a city still had loopholes for infiltration, Mo Jingli might as well bury himself right now.

Leng Huai raised an eyebrow and suddenly smiled. "Speaking of which... 800,000 people... how much food do you think Mo Jingli has stored in Liyang?" Liyang wasn’t an especially large city, and more importantly, it wasn’t a major grain-producing region of Great Chu. The city’s reserves couldn’t possibly be substantial. Yet the daily provisions needed for 800,000 troops were anything but trivial.

Hearing this, Yun Ting arched his sword-like brows and grinned. "We could even lend him a hand! While infiltrating with too many people is impossible, sending a few experts to start a fire should still be feasible."

Xu Qingfeng stood up and nodded. "No problem. Leave this task to me."

Naturally, such a mission could only be entrusted to the Qilin—the Mo Family Army’s most elite individual fighters, skilled in all manner of techniques. Lyu Jinxian nodded in agreement. "We appreciate your efforts, Commander Xu. Mo Jingli surely won’t leave things completely unguarded, so please be extremely careful."

Xu Qingfeng nodded, "Generals, please await good news."

Without further ado, Xu Qingfeng bid farewell to the group and left the tent directly. Leng Huai sighed and said, "I hope Commander Xu achieves immediate success."

He Su pondered for a moment and asked, "Should we still arrange troops to intercept the supply convoy from Great Chu?"

Lyu Jinxian waved his hand dismissively. "No need for that. If Mo Jingli has additional supplies coming, let them pass."

Though no one knew what Lyu Jinxian was scheming, seeing his composed demeanor, they assumed he had a plan in mind and refrained from further questions.

"Reporting to General Lü and General Leng, a young master surnamed Ye requests an audience outside the camp gates," a guard announced as he entered.

"Young Master Ye? Who is that?" The group exchanged puzzled glances.

After a moment's thought, Lyu Jinxian said, "Invite him in."