After a long day, the Black Cavalry was finally driven south of the Wei River, and the Xiao Army finally recovered the lost territory for Damu and raised the "Xiao" flag again at Pingdu Pass.

After many days of catastrophe, the city is full of piles of corpses, burnt earth and ruins. However, the people who have experienced war here always have a strong ability to heal themselves. They quietly go to the streets, pick up the bones of their loved ones, help each other rebuild the burned houses, and then the sun will rise as usual, and no matter how great the pain is, it will fade away. They will still live a normal and self-sufficient life, and pass it on from generation to generation.

On the seventh day after Pingdu Pass was recaptured, order in the city was finally restored and the streets were cleared as usual. Xiao Du led all the soldiers of the Xiao Family Army to hold a ceremony in front of the city tower. It rained heavily again that day. The sky was dark purple. Countless spike-like raindrops fell from the dark blue clouds. The strong wind blew the water droplets everywhere, as if it was also sobbing and wailing for these loyal souls.

Xiao Du, dressed in a white suit and black armor, walked up step by step to the altar built in front of the city wall. Yellow banners were fluttering in the air. The jade was shattered to ashes, and the soul could not return.

With every step Xiao Du took, his face became more and more sad. Finally, he stopped at the highest point of the altar and looked at the dark coffin in front of him. He reached out and touched the deep and shallow patterns on the coffin. Two lines of hot tears slid down along with the rain. Then he closed his eyes and whispered, "Wen Qian, we are here to see you off."

The long street beside the city tower was filled with people who came to the ceremony spontaneously. They stood silently in the rain with umbrellas, and together with all the soldiers of the Xiao family army, they bid farewell to the deceased heroes. They remembered how the scholar lying in the coffin, with his courage, led dozens of death soldiers into the city, rescued the people from the iron hooves of the black cavalry, and how he led his troops to the last moment, protecting the safety of Pingdu Pass and even the entire Central Plains. He and many unknown soldiers guarded this city with their lives, and today, it was finally time for them to bid farewell to them.

Xiao Du stood for a long time holding the coffin, then slowly raised his hand. Following his command, funeral music began to play in the army. Xiao Du took out a eulogy and read it loudly in the cold rain. The heavy eulogy, along with the sad sound of wind and rain, drifted with the funeral music, as if the world was mourning together, and the sun and moon were dim. I don't know when it started, but some people among the people began to cry softly, and then the crying became louder and louder, causing the Xiao family soldiers to bow their heads and cry bitterly. They thought of their dead relatives and the brothers who had fought side by side. The wheat in their hometown may have been ripe, but those warriors who went on the expedition will never go back.

After Xiao Du finished reading the sacrificial text, he heard the sobbing sounds coming from his ears, and he couldn't help but feel sad and coughed a few times. He turned around and looked at the people under the city tower whose faces were full of pain and anger. His chest was filled with heat. He drew out the sword from his waist and raised it high. He gathered all his strength and said loudly: "Xiao Du swears here today that in my lifetime, I will never let the barbarians set foot on the Central Plains again, never let my compatriots suffer from war again, and never let this land be destroyed again!" His eyes were red, but his face was flashing with a strange light. Then, with a flash of the knife, he cut off a section of his black hair and scattered it under the altar, declaring his determination to fulfill this oath. The civilians and soldiers present were all shocked by this scene. Many of them knelt down in the rain, shouting and yelling. No one knew who started it, but the Xiao family army began to sing a military song: Ten thousand people are of one mind, and the mountains can be shaken;

Only loyalty and righteousness can fight against the bull;

The Lord loves me more than my parents do;

If you violate military law, you will not be free;

The orders are clear and the rewards and punishments are clear;

How dare I delay when facing fire and water?

Report to the emperor and save the people.

Kill all the barbarians and seek a title of nobility!

The passionate singing shook the sky and echoed in and outside Pingdu Pass. After the song was over, almost everyone was in tears. A deputy general walked behind Xiao Du and handed him a libation. Xiao Du concealed his inner excitement, raised the wine cup high, and sprinkled it in front of the coffin three times, silently saying in his heart: Goodbye, Wen Qian. Goodbye, all the brothers who fought for Da Mu.

After the ceremony, Xiao Du personally carried Luo Yuan's body to the mountain for burial. Many soldiers who died in the battle were already buried there. Then they and the people erected a stone tablet. Xiao Du drew his sword and personally carved the words "Loyalty Tablet" on the stone tablet. Then he stared at the words with a guilty look on his face. Finally, a deputy general stepped forward and advised: "Your Majesty, please go back first. It's raining so hard. You need to take care of yourself." Xiao Du waved his hand and said calmly: "I will accompany them for a while." Then he and everyone else stood in silence in front of the tablet for a long time before he was finally sent back to the county governor's mansion by his personal guards.

Yuan Xi stayed in her room today and did not attend the ceremony. For the first time, she felt so cowardly. No matter how hard she tried, she could not face the departure of the young master calmly. So she chose to escape. Some things just need to be kept in her heart. She believed that he would understand.

Xiao Du changed his clothes and walked in, and saw Yuan Xi sitting at the desk, writing something very seriously. Yuan Xi turned around and saw Xiao Du, and something flashed in her eyes, but she didn't ask. Xiao Du didn't want to touch her inner pain, so he walked behind her and asked softly, "What are you writing?"

Yuan Xi did not answer, but put down her pen and gently hugged his waist, saying: "Adu, the child's relatives are all dead. I have been thinking for a few days, why not adopt him."

Xiao Du knew she was talking about Zhuzi, the boy Luo Yuan had saved, so he touched her head, nodded and said, "You decide." Yuan Xi finally smiled for the first time in the past few days. She sat down and spread out the book in front of her. Xiao Du then discovered that there were many notes and thoughts written on it, all densely written by Yuan Xi. At that moment, he suddenly understood, and his throat seemed to be choked by something, and he said, "You want to..."

Yuan Xi nodded, gently touched the pages of the book in his hand and said, "I left the capital in a hurry and couldn't take out the books that the young master gave me. I have always felt guilty because those should have been the last things he could leave behind. Later, I thought, since those books are gone, why not I continue writing for him? When the child grows up, we will give him these books. He will always know how warm and special the person who risked his life to save him was."

Xiao Du's eyes were warm again. He held her in his arms and said softly, "Okay, I'll go with you."

Yuan Xi leaned her head against his chest, her voice trembling, "Adu, he really won't come back, right?"

Xiao Du gently pressed the back of her head, trying to suppress the grief in his heart: Yes, I will never see again that always upright and modest gentleman, with that everlasting innocent heart.

In early winter, the Da Mu army and the Black Cavalry fought many times in Lingchu. Xiao Du led the Xiao family army with high morale and plunged into the enemy like a steel knife, killing the Black Cavalry several times and forcing them to hide in the mountains. The two leaders were also devastated and never launched a strong counterattack again. The food and grass in Pingdu Pass were burned, and the speed of supply from the capital was getting slower and slower. The Xiao family army had to start cutting back on three meals to cope with the coming severe winter. Seeing this, the people took out their only food to help the Xiao family army through the difficulties.

One day, Xiao Du came back from the battlefield and heard the sound of children playing from a distance. He found Yuan Xi and Zhu Zi playing with a slingshot in front of the door. It was the first time he saw this child who had been hiding in the dark and dazed, finally smiling brightly in the sun. It was like a seedling that had been destroyed finally broke through the soil and was reborn. Xiao Du felt that the haze in his heart had faded a lot, so he walked over with a smile. When Yuan Xi saw him coming back, he didn't care that there were outsiders present, and rushed over to hug him in surprise, and the maid beside him also took Zhu Zi to play somewhere else with great interest.

The two of them cuddled together for a while before walking into the house hand in hand. Yuan Xi handed Xiao Du a towel to wash his face, and then asked with some concern: "Is there not enough food in the city? Do you think...?"

Xiao Du knew what she was afraid of. Would the tragedy of Pingduguan a few years ago be repeated? This was also a shadow that could not be shaken off in his heart. He held her soft hands and said slowly: "Xi'er, I have been thinking about something recently."

Seeing Yuan Xi looking up at him inquiringly, Xiao Du's eyes gradually became deep, and he said, "These few days, I often think of a conversation with Wen Qian. He asked me what would be the next step if we won this battle." Speaking of that man, he couldn't help but sigh again, "I still remember him telling me that although the current Great Mu is coveted by foreign enemies, the monarch is wise and respected by the people, and the people of the Central Plains live a prosperous and peaceful life. It is a rare prosperous era. He asked me if I really had the heart to disrupt this peace."

Yuan Xi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately understood what he meant. Given the current war situation, it was only a matter of time before the Black Cavalry was driven back to the grasslands, and the next thing they would face was a confrontation with the Imperial City. Xiao Du's identity and the military power in his hands would always be a thorn in the emperor's heart. If he gave up the military power in his hands, he would no longer have the power to resist, which would be equivalent to putting his life in the hands of the emperor. But if he really led his troops to attack the Imperial City, the world would be in turmoil, and the people would be plunged into war again. This was an unsolvable deadlock, and now was the time to make a decision.

Xiao Du held her hand tighter and continued, "Xi'er, the loss of Pingdu Pass and the death of Wen Qian made me understand many things. If he and I had not been suspicious and wary of each other, how could those barbarians take the opportunity to invade, or even design provocations and kill people in Pingdu Pass. The warriors of Pingdu Pass did not deserve to die, and Wen Qian did not deserve to die. The more I think about it these days, the more regretful I feel. If the Great Mu could be united, no matter how many foreign tribes were around, it would not be enough to be afraid."

Yuan Xi listened to him quietly, and something touched her heart. She raised her head and looked at him and said, "I said, no matter what you want to do, I will support you."

Xiao Du smiled with relief, and said, "Do you remember what you said: The general trend of the world is nothing more than the will of the people, and the will of the people is the foundation of the country. I once swore a solemn oath in front of the people of Pingdu Pass, so I don't want to choose a path that will destroy lives, and I believe Wen Qian doesn't want to see this either."

"But..." Yuan Xi showed a worried expression, "Does that person think the same way?"

Xiao Du shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I want to take a gamble. Tomorrow, I want to give him something..."