Two battlefields

Although Mou Yan said no, her actions spoke louder than words.

The next evening, Changfeng brought the ten elite soldiers to Gu Jinghong.

Gu Jinghong led ten elite men in black, stealthily reaching the rear camp of Bei Di where they stored crossbows.

"Use this stone to press firmly against the trigger mechanism three inches below the crossbow, and silently count to three breaths." She distributed the specially made magnets to everyone, her voice extremely low. "Be gentle, and restore it to its original state afterward, without leaving any trace."

She demonstrated it herself; as soon as the magnet was attached to the crossbow, a barely audible "click" sound came from inside.

The process was silent, yet more terrifying than any battlefield battle.

Once discovered, these eleven men would be instantly swallowed up by the army.

As the mission neared its end, Gu Jinghong breathed a slight sigh of relief, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the exceptionally tall "elite" figure beside him.

This person's movements were clean and efficient, but the lingering sharp aura around him was completely different from that of ordinary soldiers.

A thought struck her, and taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, she suddenly reached out—

The mask fell off, revealing a handsome face that she knew all too well.

Under the moonlight, Xiao Chengyan's eyes held a hint of helplessness at being exposed, and even more so, an unconcealable concern.

"Your Highness?" Gu Jinghong's pupils contracted slightly, and he almost uttered a breath, "...You're considered 'elite'?"

Xiao Chengyan pulled her into the shadow of a pile of weapons, lowered his head and whispered in her ear, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe: "What, is my martial arts not considered elite?"

Gu Jinghong glared at him, but had no time to argue, and could only whisper, "...I'll settle the score with you when we get back."

She turned to leave, but Xiao Chengyan pulled her back into the shadows.

“Since the debt is already incurred,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist, reducing the already small distance between them to zero, his voice so deep that only she could hear it, “why not collect some interest first?”

Before she could react, his lips had already landed on hers.

This kiss carried the tension of being on the edge of a battlefield, the relief of something lost and then regained, and a long-suppressed desire. Between his lips and teeth was the chill of the northern wind and snow, and his unique spikenard scent, conquering and brooking no refusal.

Gu Jinghong's hand rested on his cold black armor, the force gradually softening under his scorching breath.

All around them were the sounds of enemy patrols and the distant snorting of warhorses, and in the shadows piled high with deadly weaponry, they were engaged in another silent confrontation.

Fortunately, under Xiao Chengyan's leadership, the elite troops, despite noticing the two's unusual behavior, seemed oblivious, focusing on tackling the mechanism in front of them and not even sparing a glance at the two.

When the kiss ended, Xiao Chengyan pressed his forehead against hers, his breath slightly ragged, but a dark fire still burned in his eyes.

He had waited far too long, but the battlefield was bitterly cold, and he could only barely suppress it.

“Now,” he said in a hoarse voice, “my 'elite' mind has finally come to a complete stop.”

"Get to work quickly."

Xiao Chengyan smiled gently and obediently got to work.

The elite soldiers around him were clearly using magnets to attach to their crossbows, yet they all paused for a fleeting moment, though it was so quick that Gu Jinghong didn't notice.

...

The next day, the two armies faced off, and dark clouds loomed over the city.

The Northern Di commander, brimming with self-satisfaction, waved his flag and ordered: "Prepare the crossbows, fire—!"

However, the anticipated rain of arrows that would tear everything apart did not come.

Thousands of armor-piercing crossbows, like sleeping behemoths, fell silent under the frenzied manipulation of the Northern Di soldiers.

The battlefield fell into dead silence, followed by a massive panic erupting within the Northern Di army.

"The crossbows are all useless!" Someone in the Dayong army shouted excitedly.

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Lie, disguised as an ordinary soldier, immediately focused his gaze on the aloof, crimson figure in front of the formation. Today was originally the day he was to completely annihilate the Northern Army and take Xiao Chengyan's life. But the crossbow bolts malfunctioned at this moment, which must be the work of Gu Jinghong!

However, before he could come up with a solution, he heard Gu Jinghong's clear voice: "Marshal Tuoba, you flatter me. The failure of the armor-piercing crossbows was truly unexpected!"

Tuoba Hao swung his scimitar, severing an arrow in half, and sneered, "Witch! You're the ones who tampered with it!"

Gu Jinghong laughed even more provocatively: "Haha! General Tuoba, since you know that this batch of armor-piercing crossbows was not personally signed off by me, Gu Jinghong, you still dare to use them. It seems that you don't have much confidence in the technology of our Jinghong Dock!"

Tuoba Hao's eyes darkened, and he subconsciously glanced in the direction of Gongsun Lie behind him.

Yes, the armor-piercing crossbow was provided by Gongsun Lie. The two of them conspired to take down Xiao Chengyan, the Prince of Yong Dynasty, so that he could also get Gongsun Lie's help and then launch a counterattack against Murong Xiao.

But now, he had a feeling that he, Tuoba Hao, had been tricked by Gongsun Lie and Xiao Chengyan.

But he was still not giving up. "Who said this batch of armor-piercing crossbows belongs to your Jinghongwu? This batch of armor-piercing crossbows was personally purchased by Murong Xiao, the new emperor of Beizhai. It has absolutely nothing to do with your Jinghongwu!"

"Is that so? Then that's your own problem, Northern Di, which is all the better!"

The more Gu Jinghong said this, the more suspicious Tuoba Hao became of Gongsun Lie.

Just as Tuoba Hao hesitated, he heard Xiao Chengyan say, "It seems that someone does not truly want to help Bei Di win. Instead, they are using this opportunity to deplete Bei Di's national strength and weaken our Dayong border army. When both sides are exhausted, they can reap the benefits, or even... collude with foreign countries, use Bei Di to eliminate dissidents, and then turn around and clean up the mess as a 'national hero' to further control the Dayong court."

"you--"

Even the usually composed Gongsun Lie couldn't help but spit out a curse, his heart growing increasingly uneasy.

He knew this was a fatal blow to his morale, so he quickly lowered his voice and hissed towards Tuoba Hao, "Marshal, please understand! This is a scheme by Xiao Chengyan and that vixen to sow discord! They..."

Swoosh—

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a cold iron arrow flew toward Gu Jinghong's forehead with extremely sharp speed and momentum.

"careful!"

"A stunning sight!"

Several exclamations rang out at the same time.

Gu Jinghong had just relaxed slightly from carefully searching for Gongsun Lie in the crowd when he sensed danger; that cold glint was already close to his face!

The shadow of death instantly enveloped her, time seemed to stretch out, and she had no time to make any effective evasive maneuvers.

At this critical moment—

A figure in black rushed over at a speed exceeding all limits, like a raging hurricane!

Xiao Chengyan didn't even have time to draw his sword to block; he could only use his body to shove her away and at the same time, he wrapped his arm around her and held her tightly in his arms.

"Pfft—"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was muffled.

The poisoned arrow grazed the outside of Xiao Chengyan's arm, tearing through his armor and drawing a trail of blood. Ultimately, due to his collision and protection, it pierced deeply into the earthen wall behind where Gu Jinghong had just stood with a "clang," its fletching still trembling violently!

It was a split second! A hair's breadth away!

Xiao Chengyan could even feel the icy chill and the breath of death as the arrow grazed his arm armor.

Gu Jinghong was held tightly in his arms, his cheek pressed against his cold, hard black armor. He could clearly feel the frantic and chaotic beating of his heart like a war drum in his chest, and the uncontrollable, subtle yet violent trembling of his body.

He held her so tightly, so tightly that he almost crushed her and embedded her into his own bones.

She saw a fleeting look of terror in his beautiful phoenix eyes, followed by a raging inferno, his crimson eyes fixed on the person in his arms.

"Changfeng and Hantuo, wipe out the remaining enemy forces! Those who surrender will not be killed! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without exception!"

"Yes! Kill them!"

Buzz—

As the bugles sounded and the war drums beat, all the northern troops rushed forward, and Tuoba Hao was quickly overwhelmed and forced to defend himself.

Xiao Chengyan remained silent. His icy gaze swept across the entire scene with an undeniable authority and warning. Before the tens of thousands of soldiers could fully recover from the lightning-fast assassination, he swept her up in his arms with one hand.

Sigh—

With lightning speed, Xiao Chengyan scooted onto his horse, carrying Gu Jinghong in his arms, his arms tightly wrapped around her.

Amidst the vast snow-capped mountains, Gu Jinghong nestled in his arms, able to see his taut jawline and feel the aura of fear and possessiveness emanating from him, a sense that kept strangers at bay.

That arrow was truly terrifying; he was still unsettled and needed to confirm it.

He confirmed that she was still alive, that she was warm, and that she truly existed in his arms.

The thrill of surviving a brush with death completely ripped away his rationality, leaving only the most primal and instinctive emotions—he desperately wanted to possess her, as if only in this way could he soothe the fear that was almost suffocating him.

It moved with lightning speed, returning to the commander's tent in the blink of an eye.

He never let go of her from beginning to end; with a single hand, he lifted the curtain.

Inside the commander's tent.

Gu Jinghong finally broke free from Xiao Chengyan's control.

Her face was flushed, her breathing slightly disordered, and her eyes held a mixture of surprise and understanding at his loss of control: "Xiao Chengyan, the war isn't over yet, what are you trying to do?"

As Xiao Chengyan removed his heavy armor, he approached Gu Jinghong.

His gaze first fell on her calves, then moved upwards, across her undulating curves, and finally settled on the red mole at the end of her eyebrow.

What do you think?

Gu Jinghong became increasingly embarrassed: "This battle is so crucial, how could you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Chengyan had already walked up to her, standing very close, his warm breath brushing against her hair, which was damp from the wind and snow, behind her ear.

Xiao Chengyan wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her forward, pressing her close to him. His lips almost touched her earlobe: "We're going to win the battle against Bei Zhai."

His palm, through Gu Jinghong's inner garment, gently massaged her waist.

"Now, I need to confirm whether I can win this battle."

Xiao Chengyan lowered his head and bit her neck and shoulder as punishment, leaving a shallow mark, but he held her even tighter.

His kisses traveled up her neck, his voice muffled, "I can't... live without you..."

Gu Jinghong was a little breathless from his actions, but she still stubbornly insisted, "Who said this is... um... your battlefield?" Her rebuttal carried a tremor that she herself was unaware of, more like a powerless invitation.