With you waiting for me, I will surely return safely.

Early in the morning, at the foot of the mountain in the Blazing Sun Kingdom, Zhao Chengxian instructed Yue'er, Feishu, Haiming, and Haiyang to take the evidence they had gathered in the Linyan Kingdom back and present it to Xuanyuan Ren. This would allow Xuanyuan Ren to provide an explanation to the Linyan Kingdom; after all, this was the work of Linyan's own people and naturally had nothing to do with Blazing Sun. They had been tormented by the Polij incident for two days and two nights without rest, and exhaustion was clearly written on their faces. Yet, what did a little bitterness and fatigue matter when weighed against the country? Feishu agreed without a second thought. "Brother Chengxian, rest assured, I will definitely deliver the evidence to His Imperial Highness. Brother Chengxian, you must take care of yourselves!" His words startled Haiyang slightly, who had not expected Feishu to be the younger brother of Xuanyuan Ren. Haiyang glanced at his younger brother Haiming, but Haiming only confirmed his own guess, showing no excessive surprise.

Zhao Chengxian nodded and said, "I will, don't worry. Soon we'll all be able to drink together!" If they rode swift horses, they could reach the capital by this afternoon. Fortunately, they had tethered their fast horses in a secluded spot, which was why Polij and his men had not discovered them.

Yue'er looked at Zhao Chengxian with reluctant eyes. She understood that for Zhao Chengxian, staying here while she possessed no martial arts skills would only make her a burden. Yet emotionally, she wished to face adversity and triumph alongside him. Her heart was in fierce turmoil, wavering between emotion and reason. Suddenly, she involuntarily rushed forward and embraced Zhao Chengxian, which startled everyone. If Feishu's true identity had only surprised Haiyang, Yue'er's action shocked everyone present. Knowing full well how dangerous it was for Zhao Chengxian to remain here, she cast aside all concerns about others' gazes and whispered softly in his ear, "Bookworm, I will wait for you to return safely, and then I will tell you everything!" Although in the eyes of everyone, two "men" embracing and whispering seemed a bit peculiar, they simply assumed Yue'er had discovered some secret and was reporting it privately to Zhao Chengxian. No one suspected their relationship was anything out of the ordinary, because in everyone's eyes, Yue'er was still the top scholar Yang Wentai rather than Hui Yue'er, the female chief escort of the Hui Family Escort Agency.

Zhao Chengxian truly wished that time could stop forever at this moment. This was his happiest moment in the past two years. He revealed a most sincere smile and said, "Don't worry, little crescent moon. With you waiting for me, I could never bear not to return!" Then he gently pushed Yue'er away, looked at her with a smile, and said, "Scholar Yang, please rest assured, this Prince will definitely return safely!" Yue'er gave a slight smile, mounted her swift horse, and departed with Feishu and the others. Zhao Chengxian watched the dust kicked up by the horse's hooves, unwilling to miss a single chance to gaze upon Yue'er, even if it were only her retreating figure, for they had already missed each other for two years. He truly did not want to miss another moment, though he knew that his momentary loss of emotional control had risked exposing Yue'er's identity. Yet he understood they would not regret doing so, for the more critical the juncture, the more easily emotion conquers reason.

In the military camp, early morning:

After sending off Yue'er and the others, Zhao Chengxian and his three chief guards headed to the military camp. To their surprise, as soon as they arrived at the camp gates, they were surrounded—an ambush had been laid long ago. Polij stepped out, looked at Zhao Chengxian and his men, and shouted to the soldiers, "They are spies from the Linyan Kingdom who murdered the imperial commissioner! If you brothers do not want to be punished by His Majesty for the commissioner's death, kill them and let us avenge the commissioner!" Even if Feishu and the others had returned, Polij would have found various pretexts to drive them to their deaths.

Zhao Chengxian and his companions had reservations about fighting their own people, holding back at every turn while defending themselves and explaining, "Polij is the actual spy of the Linyan Kingdom! He is a Linyan prince who wants to use the hands of our Blazing Sun Kingdom to avenge his imperial brother. Do not become Polij's accomplices, brothers..." But the people would not listen to their explanations. Though their martial arts were formidable enough to fight for a whole day without defeat, it felt entirely unjust to fight their own countrymen.

Polij, however, lacked such patience. He drew a bow and aimed an arrow straight at Zhao Chengxian's chest, recognizing him as the leader with decision-making authority. With a smile that seemed capable of destroying the world, Polij suddenly released the string.

An unexpected event, defying everyone's expectations, transpired. General Huancheng suddenly lunged forward, throwing himself over Zhao Chengxian to shield him from the arrow. The battle instantly halted. The soldiers swarmed forward and saw General Huancheng with an arrow piercing straight through his chest. Chen Gui hurried to support the general. Gasping for breath, General Huancheng looked at Zhao Chengxian kneeling beside him and said, "I know you... you are... you are Prince... Prince Jun. Your humble subordinate knows... knows he has committed an unforgivable... an unforgivable crime. Your subordinate deserves to die... a thousand deaths, and only begs... begs the Prince to save... to save my family..." With that, General Huancheng breathed his last. He used his life to prove Zhao Chengxian's true identity, and his death fulfilled his loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness. He had suffered terribly, torn between his country and his loved ones—a choice too difficult to make. Perhaps this death was his best destination.

Zhao Chengxian looked with regret upon General Huancheng lying in Chen Gui's arms, and offered a solemn promise, "General, rest assured. This Prince gives you his word: I will certainly rescue your family. Rest in peace!" He immediately issued orders to the soldiers: "Lock down the military camp at once! We must capture Polij and rescue General Huancheng's family to comfort his spirit in heaven!"

Filled with righteous indignation and burning with the desire to tear Polij to shreds, the soldiers readily obeyed Zhao Chengxian's commands. However, having infiltrated the military camp for years, Polij was thoroughly familiar with the terrain, making him difficult to capture. Zhao Chengxian immediately ordered Yuan Bin to lead archers to wait upon the mountain; if Polij escaped the camp, he would surely head for the secret tunnel on that mountain. Meanwhile, Zhao Chengxian led the rest in a thorough, sector-by-sector search of the camp.

Will they succeed in bringing Polij to justice? And how will they rescue General Huancheng's family? Find out in the next chapter!