Liu Buwang's body had just been brought back, and before they had time to discuss burial, someone came to inform Xiao Jue that the people sent by Her Royal Highness the Princess had found Chai Anxi.

Xiao Jue took Lin Shuanghe and rushed to the palace immediately.

When they arrived at the palace hall, Mu Hongjin was talking to his men. When he saw Xiao Jue and the others, he shook his head slightly and said, "He is dying."

The two entered the room and saw a man lying on the couch. He had been shot in the chest by an arrow and was bleeding profusely. A man who looked like a doctor was pressing on the wound. Lin Shuanghe asked the man to leave and sat down beside the couch. He felt the pulse and shook his head at Xiao Jue: "There is no hope."

After all, he was just a doctor. Fighting for his life with King Yan also depended on luck. With injuries like this, there was no way he could be saved. Lin Shuanghe took out a medicine bottle from his arms, poured out a pill from it, and fed it into Chai Anxi's mouth.

After a while, the person on the bed opened his eyes with great effort.

Lin Shuanghe stood up and said, "Time is running out. If you have anything to ask, please ask as soon as possible. You can only hold your breath." He patted Xiao Jue on the shoulder and went out.

Chai Anxi raised his head in a daze. When he saw Xiao Jue's face, his dim eyes suddenly lit up. He took a breath and said, "...Second Young Master?"

Xiao Jue stared at him indifferently.

".....Second Young Master," Chai Anxi was a little excited, but as soon as he spoke, he spat out a large mouthful of blood. He asked, "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you." Xiao Jue sat down on the chair in front of the bed, his voice calm, "It's been five years. Now I should know what happened in the Mingshui battle that year."

Chai Anxi was stunned and didn't say anything for a long time.

In fact, when Xiao Jue was young, he often saw Chai Anxi. Chai Anxi was a deputy soldier under Xiao Zhongwu. He was not the best in martial arts, but he was the most honest and kind, like a black bear, and his body shape was similar to Shen Han. When he was young, Chai Anxi occasionally worked for Xiao Zhongwu in the mansion. When he saw Xiao Jue, he always smiled honestly and called him "Second Young Master!"

But the Chai Anxi lying on the bed now is completely different from the Xiao Jue in his memory. Chai Anxi is about the same age as Xiao Zhongwu and is now in his prime, but he looks like an old man. His hair is mostly white and there is a burn mark on his face. He is so small that he looks like a child who has not grown up. When he looks at Xiao Jue, there is no more kindness in his eyes, but regret, guilt, pain or something else.

It's frighteningly complex.

He smiled bitterly and said, "Second Young Master, you already know everything."

Xiao Jue said nothing.

"The general was murdered by someone, and that person... included me."

Xiao Jue suddenly raised his eyes and clenched his fingers into fists.

"You also know," Chai Anxi said with great difficulty, "the general has always been dissatisfied with Prime Minister Xu's excessive personal power, but Your Majesty has always trusted Prime Minister Xu. The general reminded Your Majesty to be more careful of Prime Minister Xu's evil intentions, and Prime Minister Xu has long hated the general."

"The current crown prince is tyrannical and cowardly, and he is in the same group as Prime Minister Xu. He has long been disgusted with the general, and the two of them are jealous of the general's military power. They wanted to frame him, but the general had a clean life and they could not find any loopholes. The crown prince and Prime Minister Xu joined forces and secretly planned a battle of Mingshui with the southern barbarians. In the battle of Mingshui, there was a traitor among the southern soldiers, and the general was attacked from both sides, so... he was defeated and died."

Xiao Jue looked at him, his eyes like autumn water flashing with mockery, "Are you the traitor?"

Chai Anxi looked painful: "I'm sorry, Second Young Master... I'm sorry, they threatened me with my mother, who is already 70 years old, and I... I agreed to their request and gave them a copy of the general's deployment map... It wasn't just me. There were also other people who rebelled among the general's cronies and soldiers in the Southern Army. They threatened me with my wife and children, and I... I was blinded by greed, so I agreed."

"Why did you go to Jiyang later?"

"Prime Minister Xu... How could Prime Minister Xu allow someone who knew the truth to live in the world? The few who rebelled at that time were later silenced in the Battle of Mingshui. I was lucky enough to escape, and I wanted to go back and take my mother with me, but when I got home, my mother had already passed away... Prime Minister Xu's people searched everywhere for my whereabouts. I had heard from the generals before that Jiyang City was easy to leave but difficult to enter, and it was the easiest place to hide, so I used some methods to hide my identity and hide in Jiyang."

"Second Young Master... In recent years, I have always wanted to stand up and explain what happened back then. But even though I am in Jiyang, I can only hear that Prime Minister Xu is becoming more and more powerful. Even if I stand up and speak, everyone at that time is dead. Without evidence, no one will believe me. I want to go find you, but once I leave Jiyang City, my news will spread, and Prime Minister Xu will not let me see you alive. So I can only wait. I know that if the Second Young Master is still alive, he will find me one day."

Tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm glad you came. Second Young Master, you've grown up. If the general were still here, he would be very pleased to see you now."

Xiao Jue looked at his tears without showing any emotion. He just asked, "Who killed you?"

"......I don't know." Chai Anxi said blankly, "As early as 20 days ago, when I was in Cuiwei Pavilion, someone wanted to kill me. They set a fire at night and I escaped. The wound on my face was left at that time. Later, I kept hiding until...until Wu Tuo came to Jiyang. I knew the news about the second young master and wanted to come to find you, but I was chased and killed on the way..."

He was no longer the strongman under Xiao Zhongwu. After so many years, his age and skills were not as good as before. He was also injured in the fire and was easily ambushed. Fortunately, he was still alive so that he could see Xiao Jue, see how the boy had grown up, and express his guilt and regret.

"I... I don't have anything I can do to help the Second Young Master. I'm only saying this to put my mind at ease. I owe the general, I owe his wife, I owe the eldest and second young masters, and I owe my brothers. I'll never be able to repay them in this lifetime." He seemed to be crying and laughing at the same time, "When I go to the underworld, I will personally kowtow to the general and apologize..." His voice stopped abruptly, his eyes were still open, but there was no light in them anymore.

He is dead.

Xiao Jue sat quietly, with his eyes downcast, and said nothing. After a moment, he stood up and walked out of the room.

Chai Anxi was dead, and the last insider of the Mingshui Battle was gone. He could not bring a dead person back to Shuojing as a witness, and Chai Anxi did not leave anything that could be used as evidence.

This trip was just to confirm some of the things he had guessed at the beginning.

Mu Hongjin and Lin Shuanghe were waiting for him outside. When they saw Xiao Jue coming out, Mu Hongjin said, "When Wu Tuo came, the situation was complicated and I couldn't send anyone to look for him. After the incident was over, someone found out where Chai Anxi was. When my men found him, he was being chased and was seriously injured when he was rescued. I asked the doctor in the city to help him stop the bleeding temporarily..." Mu Hongjin looked at Xiao Jue's expression and frowned slightly, "Is he dead?"

Xiao Jue: “Dead.”

She sighed and said nothing.

After searching for such a long time, we finally found the person, but he was dead. It was just a little bit short, what a pity.

Lin Shuanghe asked: "Huai Jin, what are your plans for the future?"

Xiao Jue was silent for a while before he said, "Chai Anxi is dead, and the war in Jiyang has been settled. We will set out for Liangzhou in a few days."

"Are you leaving?" Mu Hongjin was a little reluctant. "You haven't been here for long. Why don't you wait until Xiaolou comes back before leaving?"

Xiao Jue said, "There are other things to do."

In this case, Mu Hongjin could not persuade him to stay. He smiled and said, "No matter what, the city of Jiyang was saved this time, thanks to Governor Xiao. I will write a memorial to the emperor, and His Majesty will definitely reward me."

"No need." Xiao Jue turned and walked forward. He seemed to be not very interested in these things and felt a little impatient. Lin Shuanghe scratched his head and explained: "Huai Jin is in a bad mood at the moment. Your Highness, please don't bother with him."

Mu Hongjin shook her head. As a contributor to Jiyang City, she was grateful no matter what.

"Oh, by the way," Xiao Jue paused as if he had thought of something, and without turning back, he said in a low voice, "Your Highness, do you know that Mr. Liu is no longer here?"

Mu Hongjin's expression froze.

…

Inside Cui's house, Chu Zhao was brewing tea on a small stove.

He looked calm and patient in his movements. Ying Xiang handed him the handkerchief. He grasped the handle of the teapot and placed it on the table.

"Chai Anxi probably isn't going to make it anymore." Ying Xiang said softly.

"Chai Anxi is quite a talent, for being able to find a place like Jiyang and wait five years before dying." Chu Zhao smiled.

"But Fourth Young Master," Ying Xiang was puzzled, "why didn't you just kill him directly? Instead, you deliberately kept him alive so that he could meet Governor Xiao and tell the truth. Wouldn't that expose the Prime Minister?"

"Even if he didn't say it, Xiao Huaijin has already guessed who is behind the scenes." Chu Zhao smiled indifferently, "Telling it out will only make him feel more at ease. If Chai Anxi gets angry in front of him, he will hate the Prime Minister even more. The greater the threat Xiao Huaijin poses to the Prime Minister, the more the Prime Minister will value me. After all, no one understands the principle of checks and balances better than the Prime Minister."

"Besides, this is Jiyang. No one is around. What we do is our own business." He said calmly: "It's up to us to reduce the fire or add fuel to the fire."

Ying Xiang nodded: "I understand. As for the Fourth Young Master, now that Chai Anxi is dead, and the things that the Prime Minister asked us to do have been done, are we going back to Shuojing after this?"

"No," Chu Zhao said, "There is one thing I am very curious about, so I decided to go to Liangzhouwei first."

"Liangzhou Guard?" Ying Xiang was surprised, "That's Commander Xiao's territory." Chu Zhao and Xiao Jue have never been at odds with each other. In Liangzhou Guard, Chu Zhao will definitely not get any good results.

"So it's very interesting to snatch people from Xiao Huaijin's territory."

The tea leaves in the cup floated up and down, and he watched and slowly began to chuckle.

…

The time for returning was set for two days later. After Liu Buwang was buried, He Yan, Xiao Jue and others set out to return to Liangzhou Wei.

This trip to Jiyang has brought me many happy moments, but also many sad ones. The most regrettable thing is that I have just met an old friend and now I have to say goodbye to him forever.

He Yan was unusually silent, and slowly packed her luggage in the room. In fact, she didn't have much luggage to begin with, and she couldn't take back the women's clothes that Lin Shuanghe had paid for her to wear at the Xiluofang in Jiyang. As a "grown man", she would probably be looked at strangely if she carried women's clothes with her.

So He Yan kept all the clothes, jewelry and shoes and gave them to Cui Yuezhi's four concubines. But when she was packing them up, she felt a little reluctant to leave. It was probably because she had been a woman for so long that she felt a little uncomfortable being a man again.

There was a dough figurine under the pillow. The dough figurine was not as bright as when it was first made, but rather dull in color. The dough was also gradually drying out, and even had cracks. He Yan picked it up and looked at it carefully.

It was the Water God Festival. Xiao Jue and her were on their way to the Firefly Spring by fire boat. They saw a dough figurine vendor on the water and he made one based on her image. Her long hair was tied into a small braid in front of her forehead and then fell down behind her head. She was wearing a red skirt and black boots. She was talking and laughing. She looked like a stranger, but also like her.

He Yan knew from the beginning that he could not take this thing back to Liangzhouwei after buying it. But if he really had to leave it here, He Yan was reluctant to do so. It seemed that where the dough man was, that was where the memory was. If he left it here, he would be throwing away the memory of Jiyang.

But she is unwilling to give up those memories, whether sad or happy.

"Don't want to take it back?" Xiao Jue sat at the table and glanced at her.

He Yan sighed, "If I take it back, I'm afraid it will be discovered by the Liangzhou guards. It will be bad if we reveal our true identity."

Xiao Jue curled his lips: "You are not very good at lying, how come you can't even find an excuse?"

He Yan thought, forget about the other things, but when it comes to hiding her identity, from her past life to this life, she has really been very careful. After all, a thousand-mile embankment is destroyed by an ant hole, and one careless move can lead to a complete loss. It is better to be careful.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." She said this while holding the wooden stick for making dough figurines tightly in her hand, not wanting to let go.

Xiao Jue sneered: "You can say you bought it and gave it to your fiancée."

He Yan was startled and looked at him: "Is this okay?"

"You are pure and innocent, and you have remained chaste for your fiancée. If you are so infatuated, you will naturally think of her wherever you go. Why not buy a commemorative dough figurine and send it back?"

This reminded He Yan that, yes, she seemed to still have a "fiancée". For a moment, she felt that Xiao Jue's reason was very reasonable. She picked up the dough figurine and put it into the bag, praising Xiao Jue: "Commander, I now realize that when it comes to deceiving people, you are the real master."

Xiao Jue put down the military register in his hand, looked at her, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I just said it casually, don't take it to heart." He Yan sighed, "It's just that I've been in Jiyang for too long, and I'm a little reluctant to go back to Liangzhouwei."

Such a gentle water town and simple people will naturally give rise to attachment when you come here. I don’t know if I will have the chance to come back in this life, but even if I come back here, I don’t know how many years it will take.

"Do you want to stay?" Xiao Jue asked.

He Yan nodded, then shook his head again: "No. I like it here, but there are more important things to do."

If she had no grudges from her previous life, and could live here permanently as "He Yan", she would have been more than happy. But she still had grudges to settle, so no matter how beautiful the scenery was, she could not stop and had to keep moving forward.

"You mean achievement?" he said with a hint of mockery in his voice.

He Yan smiled and said, "I guess so. But Commander, you promised me before that as long as I come with you to Jiyang City to do business, you will let me join the Southern Army. You still keep your word."

Xiao Jue: "It counts."

He Yan was happy. At least she was a little closer to her desired goal.

Xiao Jue lowered his eyes to hide the deep meaning in them. When he raised his head again, his expression had returned to normal. Just as he was about to speak, someone knocked on the door. It was Cui Jiao's voice: "Madam."

"Come in."

Cui Jiao walked in, holding a neatly folded set of clothes in her hands. She first glanced at Xiao Jue with an embarrassed look on her face.

"What's wrong?" He Yan asked.

"The fourth young master Chu next door... asked me to return this piece of clothing to you, saying that thanks to the protection of the lady's dress, he was able to escape unscathed, and he is very grateful."

He Yan remembered that when Chu Zhao sent Mu Hongjin's clothes to her, He Yan gave him the "invulnerable to swords and guns, fire and water" silk skirt, asking him to wear it as armor. If he hadn't asked Cui Jiao to return it, He Yan would have almost forgotten it.

After taking the shark silk gauze, He Yan thought for a moment and put it on the table. After returning to Liangzhou, she would be a girl again and would not need the dress any more. She could leave it to Cui Yuezhi's concubines.

As soon as he put it down, he was met with Xiao Jue's slightly cold eyes.

The young man looked at her sideways and said calmly, "You're giving the clothes I bought to Chu Zilan?"

"You didn't buy it either," He Yan said honestly, "Didn't Brother Lin pay for this?"

Xiao Jue looked indifferent.

He Yan realized that this man was angry. Come to think of it, he and Chu Zilan were sworn enemies, but he gave Chu Zilan the thing he had chosen, so naturally he would be unhappy.

She thought for a moment and took the initiative to explain, "At that time, I asked Cuijiao to deliver the princess's clothes to me. Brother Chu was afraid that Cuijiao, a little girl, would get into trouble, so he came to deliver it himself. I saw that he was a grown man and had no strength to restrain a chicken. Besides, he was by the canal. If he met the Uto people, he would be killed with two swords. Didn't the clerk in the embroidery shop say that this skirt is impervious to swords and guns, and it can't be soaked by water or fire? I have armor, so I am not afraid, so I gave him this skirt as armor."

The situation was so chaotic at the time that He Yan even forgot that the dress was for women. If she gave it to Chu Zilan, she was afraid that Chu Zilan would not wear it.

"Brother Chu?" Xiao Jue asked slowly.

He Yan took a step back, knowing that he had said something wrong again, "Fourth Master Chu, Fourth Master Chu."

He sneered: "I see you are very familiar with Chu Zilan."

"No, not too familiar." He Yan said seriously: "It's just a chance encounter, and we won't see each other again in the future."

"Let me remind you again," the young man said with a hint of impatience, "You can like anyone you want, but if you like Chu Zilan, you're courting death."