He thought for a moment and decided to add one last sentence, "Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the south. Judging from the signature, it seems to be a message from Li Tie of the Wind and Thunder Cavalry."

This time, the silence inside was broken, and the young master's deep, hoarse voice came from inside.

"Come in."

"Hey." The subordinate quickly pushed open the door and went inside.

Xie Fu, who had already changed out of his armor, was sitting in a chair wearing only a thin undergarment. His long black hair was draped over his shoulders, with water droplets still dripping from the ends and pattering onto the floor.

He looked down at something, his long, dark eyelashes drooping, obscuring the thoughts in his dark eyes and making it impossible to see his expression.

Seeing his appearance, his subordinates quickly went over and said, "Young Master, quickly dry your hair. If you are tired from coming from the battlefield, call a servant to come in and serve you. Your body will not be able to take it if you continue like this."

Over the course of the past month, even though the Central Plains did not provoke any war, the young master gradually figured out the tactics of the opposing generals and the strength of the Central Plains, and began to take the initiative to attack. The Xiliang soldiers who followed him into battle changed wave after wave, some dying and some resting, but our young master always personally took to the front lines. Even his iron body can't keep up.

As his men approached, they glanced at what the young master was holding and realized that he was reading a letter that Li Tie had sent some time ago.

"Young Master..."

Xie Fu looked up at him. "Where's the letter?"

The subordinate handed over the letter and urged again, "Young Master, please let the servants in to attend to you. You've spent more time on the battlefield than anyone else; even the best health shouldn't be taken to such extremes..."

Xie Fuqing's slender, white fingers quickly tore open the envelope and took out the letter inside, which contained news about the plague in the southern border of Xiliang.

He ignored the words of his subordinates who were trying to persuade him, and quickly unfolded the letter in his hand, skimming through the contents at a glance.

Two sheets of paper, so many words, each one he knew intimately, but when strung together into sentences, Xie Fu couldn't understand them.

What do you mean by saying that Shu Yun went into the Southern Territory a month ago and is believed to be most likely dead? The Wind and Thunder Cavalry have received multiple orders from Old Master Xie to recall them, and they will probably receive a final notice soon, ordering them to retreat.

Xie Fu angrily threw the letter on the ground, his chest heaving violently, his eyes bloodshot.

The subordinate who was gently persuading him was startled and knelt down with a thud, admitting his mistake without thinking twice, "Please forgive me, Your Highness."

She spent a whole month in that dead city, and Xie Fu couldn't imagine what she had gone through there.

Could she have also contracted the plague? What might the people inside have done to her? Is she still alive? He left the Wind and Thunder Riders with her to protect her; is no one going to stop her from entering the Southern Territory?

That dead city... who could enter and survive?

Xie Fu heard his own extremely hoarse voice, "Southern Border."

The subordinate looked up tremblingly, "What?"

"Prepare the horses, I'm going to the Southern Border."