The morning after the grand concert, Puzhou City woke up… late.
Unnaturally late.
Shops that normally opened before sunrise kept their shutters down. Street vendors who usually shouted themselves hoarse at dawn were nowhere to be seen. Even the stray dogs had the decency to sleep in.
The city looked like it had collectively decided to call in sick.
Last night's concert had wrung the people dry—emotionally, spiritually, and in several cases, financially. Too many merchants had gone home with ringing ears and buzzing hearts, replaying melodies in their heads until half the night slipped away unnoticed.
Then—
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
A single rider tore through the city gates like a nail driven by a hammer.
"Urgent report! Urgent military dispatch!"
The shout shattered Puzhou's fragile peace.
The horse skidded to a halt outside Xing Honglang's official residence. The rider barely managed to dismount before his legs gave out. He slammed a knee into the stone, slapped the ground with his palm, and shouted hoarsely:
"General Xing! Disaster! Great disaster!"
Xing Honglang was already moving before he finished.
"The rebel leaders—Chuang Jiang-Li Zicheng, the Eight Great Kings Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui-Ma Shouying, Zijing Liang-Wang Ziyong, Fan Shan Yao-Gao Jie—have joined forces! They attacked Puxian for three days and three nights but failed to take it. Last night, three hundred elite bandits bypassed the front lines and launched a surprise assault on Daning County."
His throat bobbed.
"Daning… fell in the dead of night."
Silence.
Then he forced the rest out in one breath.
"Deputy General Cao Wenzhao has already led his army back to Shaanxi to suppress bandits. He is no longer in Shanxi. The main army of the Shanxi Regional Commander is also far away. His Excellency the Governor has issued orders—commanders in surrounding regions are to reinforce immediately."
The words landed like stones dropped into a well.
Xing Honglang's sleepiness evaporated without leaving a trace. She dismissed the messenger with a sharp gesture, turned, and pressed her fingers instinctively against the embroidered emblem on her chest.
The symbol of Dao Xuan Tianzun.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun…" she whispered, voice tight. "The bandits have struck Puxian and taken Daning. Both are close to Pingyang Prefecture. Bai Mao is right there."
No answer.
The emblem remained cold and silent.
Somewhere far away—very far away—Li Daoxuan rolled over in his bed, drooled onto his pillow, and slept like a man who had stayed up far too late watching nonsense.
Xing Honglang waited a heartbeat.
Then another.
Nothing.
She straightened.
…So that's how it is.
He wasn't responding. Which meant he wasn't stepping in. Which meant—this wasn't a divine emergency.
Just because Dao Xuan Tianzun has been performing miracles lately doesn't mean we can lean on him for everything, she told herself, teeth clenched. This is our battlefield.
She spun on her heel and stormed back into the inner chambers.
"Chuwu! Wake up!"
Gao Chuwu jolted upright as if stabbed. "Honglang?!"
She fell into his arms, breathless, and poured the entire report into his ear in a rapid, urgent whisper.
By the time she finished, both of them were fully awake.
They didn't bother with armor yet. They ran.
The barracks erupted like a kicked anthill.
Zao Ying, Lao Nanfeng, Zheng Daniu—men who had been snoring like thunder just moments ago—were dragged out of bed by shouted orders and flying boots.
Xing Honglang relayed the situation in clipped, efficient sentences.
"Puxian under siege. Daning fallen. Pingyang threatened. We move immediately."
Zao Ying and Zheng Daniu were already barking commands, scrambling to assemble troops.
Only one person remained unhurried.
Lao Nanfeng yawned, stretched, and scratched his stomach.
"Relax," he said cheerfully. "Why's everyone rushing around like their pants are on fire? At least listen properly to the report first."
The room froze.
Everyone turned to him.
"…What do you mean?" Xing Honglang asked slowly.
Lao Nanfeng grinned. "Let's repeat the key line, shall we? 'They attacked Puxian for three days and three nights but couldn't take it.'"
"…And?" Zheng Daniu frowned.
"And Pingyang Prefecture is practically next door," Lao Nanfeng said, tapping his temple. "If Puxian had been under attack for three whole days, news would've reached Pingyang three days ago."
A beat.
"And if Bai Mao knew three days ago," Lao Nanfeng continued, voice light but eyes sharp, "then Dao Xuan Tianzun would've known three days ago too."
Silence.
"Yet," he said, spreading his hands, "did Dao Xuan Tianzun say a single word?"
Everyone inhaled.
"No…"
"Exactly." Lao Nanfeng nodded. "Not only did he say nothing—he even let us hold a concert last night. Big stage. Bright lights. No lightning bolts. No divine warnings."
The logic hit home.
Dao Xuan Tianzun wasn't a slow messenger. If this were truly a life-or-death crisis, they would've been mobilized days ago.
"So," Lao Nanfeng concluded, "Bai Mao isn't in mortal danger. Pingyang can hold. That's why the bandits went for Puxian and Daning instead—soft targets."
Xing Honglang exhaled slowly.
"…That makes sense."
"But," Lao Nanfeng added, grin returning, "now that the Governor's official order is here, we can't just sit on our hands."
He leaned forward, voice lowering.
"This is a perfect excuse to march north."
Xing Honglang narrowed her eyes. "Explain."
"Inspection," he said smoothly. "Reinforcement. Support. Whatever label the court likes. We go county by county, see what's worth taking, clear out roaming bandits, and recruit some able-bodied men."
His smile turned feral.
"Road builders don't grow on trees."
She stared at him.
"…Say that again without sounding like a criminal."
He coughed. "Purely civic-minded intentions."
"Hmph." She nodded once. "Fine. Half an hour. Move out."
Pingyang Prefecture
The city gates were sealed tight.
Every inch of the walls crawled with militia. Spears bristled like hedgehog spines. Crossbows were loaded. Flintlocks rested against parapets.
Prefect Dou Wenda looked like he was about to faint.
He paced the wall, wringing his hands, peering into the distance every few steps.
"Commander Wang," he whispered for the tenth time, "they haven't arrived yet, have they?"
Bai Mao leaned casually against the battlements, sunlight glinting off the flintlock slung across his back.
"Relax," he said, chuckling. "If they were coming, we'd know."
"But—but there are two hundred thousand of them!"
"And?" Bai Mao shrugged. "Two hundred thousand without command, without discipline, without logistics. Call them twenty thousand and you'd still be generous."
Dou Wenda swallowed hard.
"I only have four hundred men," Bai Mao went on calmly. "And that's enough."
He patted the rifle.
"With walls, guns, and discipline? Forty thousand could come and die here."
The prefect nodded, reassured—but only a little.
Bai Mao turned his gaze outward.
Beyond the walls lay everything he couldn't protect.
Daning County was gone. The people there… he didn't need to imagine it.
He clenched his fist.
"…Damn it."
A heavy sigh came from behind him.
Wang Er stepped up, beard stirring in the wind.
"There was nothing we could do," he said quietly. "Too far from Gao Family Village. Even if reinforcements were sent the moment news arrived, they wouldn't make it in time."
Bai Mao nodded. "…I know."
Still, the ache remained.
They had once marched under Wang Jiayin. Now Wang Jiayin's remnants were butchering the countryside.
Guilt was a stubborn thing.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun knows," Wang Er said after a moment. "He always does. Gao Family Village's troops will arrive faster than the court's armies."
Bai Mao looked up.
"…You're right."
Then—
"They're here! They're here!"
Prefect Dou Wenda's scream tore through the air.
Bai Mao snapped to attention, eyes locking onto the horizon.
The roving bandits had arrived.
And this time—
They would pay.