The square was deadly quiet.

No one expected that the person He Yan wanted to duel with was not Xiao Jue, but He Rufei.

Lin Shuanghe murmured, "Is Sister He crazy?"

Yan He also frowned and asked Xiao Jue, "What's wrong with her? She didn't come to you, but went to He Rufei instead."

Xiao Jue said nothing, his expression calm, as if he had already expected the scene before him.

He Rufei looked at the woman in front of him. The woman in official uniform had a smile on her face and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. She looked thin and short, but she had the confidence to compete with him.

Do you really think of yourself as "He Yan"?

A hint of sneer flashed through his mind. The woman in front of him looked nothing like the He Yan of the past. It was said that Wu'an Hou He Yan was cheerful and cheerful, which was completely different from his taciturn cousin. Even if he wanted to play tricks, he should have found out the other person's personality in advance. Such a poor imitation with so many loopholes could be seen through at a glance.

"You want to duel with me?" He Rufei spoke slowly.

"Everyone in the world says that General Feihong's sword is so fast that it can even cut the wind." He Yan smiled and said, "It's a pity that I have never seen it. Since I have the opportunity today, according to Commander Xiao, there will be many opportunities to compete with each other in the future. It doesn't matter this time, but General Feihong's sword is not something you can see every day."

"Mr. He," she chuckled, "are you willing to fight with me?"

He Rufei raised his lips, "Of course I can, but... swords have no eyes. If I lose..." He glanced in Xiao Jue's direction, "Will Commander Xiao not blame me for this?"

These words are full of naked provocation.

It was rumored that General Fei Hong and General Feng Yun were natural enemies and had never gotten along, but rumors were just rumors, and they had never really been at loggerheads. But today, it seemed that the rumors were not just rumors, after all, even a fool could see the undercurrents in this situation.

Among the generals, the young man wearing a dark blue official uniform with round patterns just smiled faintly upon hearing this and said, "No, it's just that sword fighting should have a prize."

"A prize?" He Rufei asked, "Why not..."

"How can we use General He's sword as a normal prize?" Xiao Jue interrupted He Rufei before he finished speaking, "Since it's a sword fight, we should use the sword as the prize."

"If you win, I'll give you this Yinqiu. If you lose," he stared at He Rufei with a half-smile, "Qinglang's master will be Marquis Wu'an from now on."

As soon as these words were spoken, the square suddenly became lively.

"Really? I didn't expect Commander Xiao to bet so big this time!"

"That's Qing Lang and Yin Qiu. They took it out just for a woman. It's really too much of a joke."

"I think Commander Xiao's Yinqiu Sword is no longer safe. No wonder they say that even a hero cannot resist the temptation of beauty... Looking at Commander Xiao's expression, could it be that he has some misunderstanding about his fiancée?"

"That's General Feihong, how could he lose to a woman!"

Emperor Wenxuan frowned. He had seen the quarrel between He Rufei and Xiao Jue. But these two had been living in peace for so many years. When did their relationship become so bad? Disharmony between military commanders was not a good thing for an imperial dynasty.

He Rufei looked at Xiao Jue and said, "Commander Xiao, are you sure you want to use your sword as a prize?"

"It's not 'my' sword," Xiao Jue said meaningfully, "it's 'your sword'."

He Rufei smiled noncommittally. In his opinion, Xiao Jue's words were just to make people laugh. He had heard of He Yan's reputation on the battlefield, but there were many reasons to decide to win a battle. Maybe He Yan was a little smart, but in a one-on-one, face-to-face duel like this, he was confident that He Yan was no match for him.

There is only one "He Yan" in the world, and that "He Yan" is already dead.

"Since Commander Xiao is so generous, I will respectfully obey your command." He said, "Please."

"Wait a minute." Xiao Jue said.

"What's wrong?" He Rufei turned and looked at him, "Could it be that Commander Xiao regrets it? It's not too late to change your mind now."

Xiao Jue pulled the corner of his mouth and mocked: "General He's weapon is a rare weapon in the world. It's not fair to his opponent." He raised his hand and the Yin Qiu in his hand flew towards He Yan, who caught it steadily, "I will use my Yin Qiu to compete with you."

He Rufei frowned, and He Yan smiled slightly: "Thank you, Governor."

She turned and walked towards the open space, saying, "Please come in, Mr. He."

He Rufei paused for a moment, then turned around and followed.

All the officials in the square and the royal family in the Tianxing Terrace were staring at the two people in the square. This was much more exciting than the wrestling match between the two warriors from Wutuo. Ma Ningbu was also staring at the woman in the red official uniform. He really didn't expect He Yan to be unwilling to compete with them, the Wutuo people, and he didn't expect He Yan to choose He Rufei.

It seems that the conflict between the two great generals of Wei is deeper than they imagined.

Guangji whispered to Guangshuo beside him, "Fourth brother, isn't this a bit wrong? How can General He bully a woman?"

Even though in Guangji's young mind, He Yan as Xiao Jue's fiancée was obviously not as perfect as Shen Muxue as Xiao Jue's fiancée, but the rules and principles he learned since childhood also taught him that men should not bully women and children.

Guangshuo shook his head: "Let's wait and see."

He also couldn't understand. If He Yan was ignorant and chose He Rufei, then Xiao Jue not only did not stop him, but even proposed to use the sword as a prize, which made people even more confused.

Yan He whispered, "Xiao Huaijin, are you crazy? How could He Yan possibly beat He Rufei? Although He Rufei would not kill her... but in front of so many people, your woman would not be willing to accept the loss in the future. She has just entered the court as an official. If she is defeated by He Rufei's sword here, she will most likely be laughed at and talked about behind her back in the future."

"She will win." Xiao Jue said.

"Are you kidding me?" Yan He widened his eyes and looked at him like a fool. "I didn't believe what others said about you being blinded by lust. I didn't expect that you are just an ordinary man. Even if He Rufei is not good enough, he has practiced swordsmanship and fought in the battlefield for a few more years than your woman. Even if you don't feel sorry for your woman, you should feel sorry for your sword! I don't want to help you. I just don't want to let the two peerless swords fall into He Rufei's hands. I will be so angry!"

"Oh." Xiao Jue's voice was still a little nonchalant, "Then you can rest assured that you won't be mad to death for the time being."

"Me!" Yan He said angrily, "I'm too lazy to tell you!"

In the square, He Rufei slowly pulled out the Qinglang from his waist.

The sword was emerald green. As soon as it was unsheathed, one could feel the chilling aura of the sword. He Yan's eyes froze for a moment. That was her sword.

The Qinglang Sword had accompanied her through the years, watching her grow from an ignorant recruit to a brave and invincible general. In the most difficult times, she once sat by the icy river holding the sword, thinking about how to go in the future. After not seeing it for many years, the sword finally came out of its sheath again, but it was held in He Rufei's hands.

"Mr. He has a good sword." She said, "What a pity."

He Rufei asked: "What's the pity?"

He Yan just smiled without saying anything, and suddenly pulled out the Yinqiu from his waist: "Sword!"

The two figures were entangled together in an instant.

The sky was green and verdant, the water was crystal clear, the long swords crossed, one blue and one white, just like the morning in the valley in autumn, full of quiet chill, the green mountains were hidden, the trees were autumn colors. The sword energy rolled the sand on the ground around, it was clearly a sword fight, but it was as moving as a dance.

General Feihong's swordsmanship was naturally excellent, fast and accurate, with an indomitable momentum. What was surprising was that the woman holding the Yinqiu Sword was not at all inferior when fighting against General Feihong's long sword.

How is this possible?

She was just a woman, and although she had been on the battlefield, she was only sixteen or seventeen years old. How could she be a match for the veterans on the battlefield? Could it be that General Feihong was showing mercy?

A hint of surprise flashed through He Rufei's mind.

Before the sword fight, He Rufei thought he had overestimated He Yan's swordsmanship, but now it seems that he still underestimated it.

This woman's swordsmanship was perfect, as if she had been practicing swordsmanship since she was a child. Her sword was extremely steady and cunning, and she could easily avoid every attack from him. Her attacks were also not weak at all, like a gust of wind and rain, on par with his own, and sometimes, because of the woman's light body, it seemed that she was even faster.

Lin Shuanghe was stunned and said to himself, "Is my sister He... so amazing?"

Although he knew that He Yan was powerful, he had never seen He Yan fight to the death with others, but only heard about it. In her opinion, He Yan might be good at military tactics, but because of her physical strength, a woman's skills could never be compared with a man's, and her opponent was He Rufei.

He Rufei was only a little weak when she was young and studying in Xianchang Hall, but later, she became a general who was as talented as Xiao Jue in the Great Wei. His heart, which had been in his throat, was now at ease, and he was immediately filled with deeper doubts. He Yan was so powerful, didn't it mean that she could at least be on par with He Rufei?

Did Xiao Jue know about this all along, so he felt confident and bold enough to offer the Yin Qiu Sword to He Yan as a prize for this competition?

Wherever Jian Feng went, there was actually another person who was overlooked by everyone, and that was Xu Zhiheng who was hiding in the list of civil servants.

Ever since he met He Yan at the celebration banquet that day, Xu Zhiheng always felt uneasy. Fortunately, he did not meet He Yan again afterwards. Today, when Ma Ningbu mentioned He Yan, Xu Zhiheng had a bad feeling.

This premonition reached its peak when He Yan proposed to duel with He Rufei.

If everyone was not standing here in an orderly manner and the emperor was watching from the Tianxing Terrace, Xu Zhiheng might have already fled. The woman holding the sword smiled, and for a moment, her face overlapped with that of a woman in his memory.

Xu Zhiheng looked at He Yan who was struggling with He Rufei, and listened to the sighs and groans of the people around him. He felt a chill all over his body.

She is back...it can't be anyone else, only her, He Yan is back.

He Yan used his sword to block He Rufei's sword, then he jumped lightly and turned around to stand behind He Rufei.

Yin Qiujian understood her heart very well. Although it was Xiao Jue's sword, she was able to wield it with ease. She stared at He Rufei with a somewhat cold expression.

He Rufei was imitating her sword moves.

Perhaps because He Rufei was afraid that he would be exposed if he pretended to be "General Feihong", even though he took off his mask and didn't go to the battlefield, he deliberately imitated He Yan's sword moves. In fact, he imitated He Yan about 80%. If he was not very close to He Yan and often saw He Yan using a sword, he would not be able to tell the difference.

It's just... after all, 20% is missing, and that 20% is exactly the most important 20% for He Yan. 10% comes from Xiao Jue's instruction when he was young, and 10% comes from the teachings of his master Liu Buwang. To be fair, He Rufei's sword moves are pretty good, but for someone who has never been on the battlefield, who has never experienced the brink of life and death, his sword energy is always reserved.

He Yan smiled slightly and thrust his sword towards He Rufei. He Rufei was startled and tried to block with his sword. The two swords collided, but the sword did not move, but the man did.

He took two steps back.

There were low cries of surprise all around.

Even the civil officials could not understand it, but the military generals saw it clearly. Someone asked, "General Feihong is actually at a disadvantage?"

"It must be because he showed mercy that Marquis Wu'an won."

He Yan's smile seemed to be frosty: "Mr. He has a good sword, but unfortunately, you don't know how to use it."

"Arrogant!" He Rufei spoke gloomily, turned around and rushed forward.

He Yan smiled and leaned back. The Qinglang brushed past her head, cutting off one of her hairs. Her smiling voice echoed throughout the Tianxing Terrace.

"General He, you haven't been on the battlefield for a long time, even your sword moves are so dull," she hooked her fingers, her attitude was full of arrogance, "Can you still lift the sword in your hand?"

He Rufei's face looked extremely ugly.

The emperor's face was also unhappy. If He did not act like this, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the Wei Dynasty? This woman was also ignorant. Even if she was skilled, she should not be so aggressive. Moreover, she only had the upper hand temporarily. How dare she speak so arrogantly?

Yan He crossed his arms and looked at them, frowning and saying, "It seems that He Rufei's swordsmanship is not that powerful now. But why do their swordsmanship look similar?" He was moved and looked at Xiao Jue, "Did you also teach He Yan swordsmanship?"

"You are really just like the martial arts masters selling their skills on the street," Yan He said with disgust, "Everyone can worship you as their master. Do you still remember that you are Xiao Huaijin?"

"You're too noisy." Xiao Jue said unhappily.

"Oh," Yan He saw through him at a glance, "Why are you pretending to be calm here? Are you really anxious? Are you eager to go up and help He Yan in the sword fight? But don't worry, I don't think He Rufei will win. What your woman said is right. It may be because he hasn't been on the battlefield for a long time, and even his hands are soft. It's really embarrassing for Xianchang Hall!"

It was quite unexpected that He Yan and He Rufei had reached this stage in their sword fighting.

They originally thought that this duel would end quickly, because regardless of gender, one was a rookie and the other was a successful general, so no matter how you looked at it, He Yan would lose. Even if he won, it was He Rufei who did it on purpose.

If He Yan won quickly, it would mean that General Fei Hong was considerate of women and didn't want to embarrass them, thus preserving Marquis Wu'an's self-esteem. But He Yan fought with He Rufei for so long.

After fighting for such a long time with no winner, it is impossible that General Fei Hong was deliberately showing mercy.

And judging from the reactions of those generals, He Rufei...didn't even get the upper hand.

Is it because Xiao Huaijin's fiancée is really so powerful? Even He Rufei can't beat her, or has General Feihong's skills really declined over the years?

Among the people in the room, besides Xu Zhiheng and He Rufei, the one with the ugliest expression was Xu Jingfu.

What happened today was really beyond Xu Jingfu's expectations.

Those Wutuo people are very cunning, and they are even more cunning because they have private dealings with Crown Prince Guangyan. Guangyan is short-sighted, narrow-minded, and does things without thinking. Apart from being ruthless, he does not have any qualities to be a successor. He just suspected that the Wutuo people had a backup plan, and Crown Prince Guangyan had a grudge against him. If he had not invested too much energy in Guangyan in recent years, and now he is just one step away from success, he would have wanted to give up the dark and join the light.

Guangyan had some reservations about him, and the Wutuo people had been secretly dissatisfied with him since the battle of Jiyang. But so what? In the court of the Wei Dynasty, he had absolute power, and even if the Wutuo people wanted to do something, they could not stir up any trouble.

Today, Manningbu proposed to compete with He Yan, which was beyond Xu Jingfu's expectation. In the end, the people competing with each other became He Yan and He Rufei, which made him realize that something was wrong.

He Yan, the daughter of a city gate captain, must have done what Xiao Jue had instructed. Xiao Jue's offer of a sword as a prize clearly had bad intentions. Xu Jingfu had been an opponent of Xiao Jue for so many years, watching him grow from a young man struggling to make ends meet to the commander of the right army who commands the support of all. Sometimes he understood Xiao Jue better than he did himself. He and He Yan had clearly set a trap for He Rufei, but He Rufei foolishly fell into it.

Or maybe He Rufei did not fail to see it, but was just too confident in him and did not believe that he would lose to a woman.

Everyone else is watching He Yan and He Rufei fighting with swords, and is amazed at how equally skilled they are. But does that really matter?

Could it be that Xiao Jue did this just to let his woman severely humiliate He Rufei in front of all the officials?

Xu Jingfu didn't think so. There was no previous hatred between He Rufei and Xiao Jue. It was just that He Rufei later surrendered to him. To show his sincerity in cooperation, he even sent his confidant to Liangzhou City to assassinate Xiao Jue, so as to take credit for it, although he failed in the end.

But Xu Jingfu saw He Rufei's sincerity. He had the support of civil officials, and he also needed the response of a military general. He Rufei appeared at the right time. Although Xu Jingfu did not understand why He Rufei chose him at first, he could have kept himself safe. But later he changed his mind and thought that the officialdom was the most capable of changing a person. Even a brave and combative general would willingly offer his sword when faced with greater benefits and a higher position.

He Rufei... He Rufei... The uneasiness that surged in Xu Jingfu's heart was like a ball of thick ink, enveloping him in an instant. He looked at He Rufei who was fighting with the woman on the field, and his heart sank.

If something happened to He Rufei... would it affect him?

After all, he and He Rufei had been very close since the time in Yuan Baozhen, Liangzhou City.

The tip of the sword, carrying murderous intent, stabbed at him from behind, but the person being stabbed seemed to have eyes on his back and slightly turned sideways, allowing the tip of the sword to miss.

"Mr. He's swordsmanship looks a little familiar." He Yan said with a smile, "But I only get the form, not the spirit. How do I use this sword?" She raised the corners of her lips, with a calm murderous intent, "Do you want me to teach you?"

He turned around suddenly and stabbed.

With a "bang", the tip of the sword pierced into He Rufei's chest, but it only went in a little and did not move forward any further.

"Mr. He, you are wearing soft armor when you come to Tianxingtai?" He Yan asked in surprise, "How afraid of death are you to be like this? Do you have many enemies and are you afraid that someone will come to seek revenge on you?"

He Rufei sneered: "You talk too much!"

"Your swordsmanship is too weak."

When it comes to provocation, He Rufei is really no match for He Yan. When she was in Liangzhou Guard, He Yan could provoke every new soldier to gnash their teeth at her with just a few words, let alone now.

He Rufei also felt a hardship in his heart.

The swordsmanship of the woman opposite him was really too good. There was no loophole at all, and she could always find his mistakes and see through them at a glance. There were many times when He Yan could have ended the duel quickly, but she didn't. She would sometimes cut off a button of his clothes, sometimes cut off a piece of his sleeve, calmly, like a cat catching a mouse, making him look inferior to a woman in the eyes of others.

Not as good as a woman!

Obviously, he is the real He Rufei, and obviously, he is the eldest son of the He family, but he has to live the life of He Yan. He lives as if he is a substitute for He Yan, and in the end, people still say that he is not as good as He Yan.

Don't think he can't see that with the talk and advice from those people behind the scenes, General He today is not as good as General Feihong in the past. Why?

Why should he be compared like this, to live in the shadow of others, inferior to a woman? Ridiculous, that woman is already a dead person, how can a dead person compare with him? The one who survives to the end is the winner.

He held the sword and stabbed He Yan from behind at a tricky angle. This was General Fei Hong's most powerful sword move, and he had learned it for a long time... It was said that no one could avoid General Fei Hong's final sword.

The tip of the sword was about to pierce the woman's vest, and everyone's hearts were in their throats.

The next moment, Yin Qiu accurately chopped off his sword. The woman in red did not turn around, but stabbed back with her sword. The sword was sharp and sharp. He Rufei was startled and wanted to avoid it, but the woman did not really want to stab him. She turned over and jumped behind him, kicking him hard in the knee. He Rufei was caught off guard, his knees softened, and he knelt down.

A chill immediately ran across my neck.

The woman in red was looking down at him, staring at him with a smile, and moving her lips silently. It was too far away for others to hear it, but He Rufei saw it clearly.

"Brother," she said, "Use my sword, are you-worthy?"

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

He Rufei: It’s me who is unworthy (.