By the river on a deep night, amidst wild grass, Lin Chaoying blocked Wang Shixiong's path, asking, "You wish to go to the Jin camp to rescue Wen Yu?"
Wang Shixiong said regretfully, "Though Brother Wei made mistakes, considering his decade of service defending this land, his bloodline should be saved from the humiliation by the Jin."
Lin Chaoying sneered, "Save your strength."
Wang Shixiong replied indignantly, "Though my strength is weak, my resolve is firm. Please do not obstruct me."
Lin Chaoying stated, "I saw this woman in the camp. She was not pregnant at all."
Wang Shixiong grew even more furious, "The fiend is too despicable! To deceive Brother Wei this way and have him serve them."
Lin Chaoying retorted, "You are the one who was deceived, not him."
Wang Shixiong asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"
Lin Chaoying questioned, "Is your mind clouded with ignorance, or are you deceiving yourself? Did you truly not consider, or fail to perceive, that the dying Wei was playing a trick, sending you to the Jin camp to die in vain?"
Wang Shixiong sat down dejectedly, "For five years, we faced life and death together. He… actually…" He cast a dejected glance at Lin Chaoying. "I always thought I did everything well, but in reality, everything was done carelessly." Lin Chaoying remarked, "Everyone makes mistakes. Experience brings wisdom…" Wang Shixiong waved his hand, sighed deeply, and walked away dispiritedly. "Let me have some quiet." Just then, Zhou Botong ran over, met Wang Shixiong, and seeing his expression, quickly moved aside. After Wang Shixiong passed, he grabbed Lin Chaoying's arm and exclaimed, "Gou'er's mother is not going to make it."
Lin Chaoying stared at his retreating figure, feeling very uneasy. However, allowing him some time to calm his emotions was not necessarily a bad thing. With Zhou Botong urging her impatiently, she followed him to the cave.
After examining Su Da Niang's injuries, she administered acupuncture and medication. After a long while, Su Da Niang sighed and slowly opened her eyes. However, she could no longer speak and pointed towards her daughter beside her. Lin Chaoying understood her meaning. After a moment's thought, she said, "I will escort Gou'er safely to Nanyang." Su Da Niang still pointed weakly. Lin Chaoying's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she bit her lip before saying, "I will take her as a servant." Only then did Su Da Niang lower her hand and pass away with peace.
Guan Zumei came to find Lin Chaoying. Although feeling it was presumptuous, he braced himself and asked, "Have you seen Brother Shixiong?"
Upon hearing that he had disappeared, Lin Chaoying searched with everyone for over an hour without success. She worried: could he truly be stubbornly going to the Jin camp to rescue Wen Yu? She intended to set off immediately to stop him, but looking back at the wounded scattered in the cave, with only Guan Zumei to support them, she couldn't guarantee the safety of the remaining troops on their way to Nanyang. Given his martial arts skills, she believed he could escape unharmed while investigating the camp. Once he discovered the truth, he would surely be concerned about the refugees' condition and plan accordingly, and then pursue Guan Zumei's group.
Unexpectedly, even after escorting the refugees to Nanyang, he did not appear, as if he had vanished.
Waiting at Guan Zumei's home, on a cold late autumn night, the entire room was filled with a chill, making the sleepless night even more restless with conflicting thoughts. Leaning on the railing, she gazed at the vast sky, recalling the night half a year ago when they first met. Lin Chaoying said to Gou'er, "I am going to a very dangerous place. For now, you will follow General Guan and practice diligently what I have taught you. Within six months at the latest, I will return to pick you up, unlike someone who shirks responsibility and disappears without a trace."
On the shortcut north to Daxing Prefecture, Lin Chaoying saw Wu Nanyong waiting for her, as if she had received intelligence. She began by asking, "Do you truly believe those rumors and are going to Yong'an to rescue that rebel leader named Wang?"
Daxing Prefecture was also called "Yong'an." When the capital city was being built, an ancient coin with the inscription "Yong'an One Thousand" was unearthed. The ministers considered it an auspicious omen and, imitating "Chang'an," named the capital "Yong'an."
Earlier, Lin Chaoying had gone to the camp in Chuzhou to investigate and heard rumors that Wang Shixiong had gone to the camp to assassinate Mao Ya, and that Li Wanxue, who was present, had severely injured him and captured him, taking him to Daxing Prefecture. Though she harbored doubts, she went with the intention of finding out. At this moment, she confessed this intention to Wu Nanyong.
Wu Nanyong frankly stated, "Dai Jia did indeed come to the camp, but it was after my senior brother outsmarted and repelled the attacking rebel Wang. Those rumors were deliberately spread by him, and you should understand his intention."
"He…?" Lin Chaoying asked, "Has Grandmother returned to Daxing Prefecture to take command?" Wu Nanyong replied, "She returned to the mountains. Before she left, she instructed me that if I had the chance to meet you, whether friend or foe, to pass on a message: do not fail the ancestors' legacy." Lin Chaoying realized what her grandmother was referring to – her research notes. Ah… perhaps she had foreseen that I would…
Wu Nanyong bit her lip and continued, "The rebel Wang fled south and should be hiding in the Song territory. You should hurry and pursue him." Lin Chaoying gazed at her, saying, "I also wish you success in catching up to him." Wu Nanyong proudly uttered an old proverb of the Dark Swordsmen, "Sweetness tasted in the mouth, blood licked from the sword, rely on your own ability." Seeing her nod, with a similar expression and full of confidence, she turned to leave. Wu Nanyong couldn't help but call out, "Ying, we will never meet again in this life." Her figure paused slightly before continuing. In her heart, she thought she had to keep going for her own sake.
On the way south, she was again blocked by Mao Ya. Mao Ya said, "Come back! As I said before, I am willing to give up everything here and return with you to the unchanging Xuexue Valley to help Dai Jia train new recruits, take responsibility for logistics, and live quietly together."
Lin Chaoying lowered her head and thought for a moment, then finally looked up and stated directly, "I am not interested."
Mao Ya asked, "Is it so interesting to chase after the tail of a stray dog?"
Lin Chaoying replied indifferently, "It's none of your business."
Mao Ya declared, "Then watch me catch up and chop off that dog's head."
Lin Chaoying sneered, "Then let's have a match."
Mao Ya finally raised his head and glared at Lin Chaoying, saying, "Since childhood, I have always followed you, listened to you. When did I ever have the chance to make my own decisions?"
Lin Chaoying also looked him straight in the eye, "Since childhood, you, I, and Nan grew up together. She is the one who loves living in Xuexue Valley…"
Mao Ya stopped her from continuing and said, "Fine! Let's have a match. I'll chop off his head first, and then you'll marry me!"
She understood that Brother Li made this pact precisely because he knew she was afraid of him controlling vast amounts of information, allowing him to secretly track, protect, and act first, thus giving him the opportunity to persuade her. Parting ways signified no longer relying on each other and the difficulty of being together again. Failing him also meant failing her grandmother's arrangement – she had cultivated Mao Ya, intending to use his strength to help Lin Chaoying regain her Li surname and take over the family's position. She had pretended not to know before, and now she refused to comply.
Lin Chaoying gazed at the interwoven ditches of the Huai River. Wang Shixiong's smiling face suddenly appeared on the river surface, then instantly turned to his sorrowful expression. Reaching out to comfort him, he vanished. She felt her entire being empty, her mind blank, unable to distinguish directions, unable to think about right or wrong, or truth or falsehood. Since childhood, she had only followed mission orders. For the past six months, she had been guided by him. Now, lost and directionless, she was like river water merely following the current.
"Yes! Catch up and chop off his dog's head!" Closing her eyes and raising her head, she suppressed the tears from falling. "If he doesn't want to live under the Jin, perhaps he has truly returned to the Song territory."
Returning to Nanyang, she learned that Wang Shixiong had not appeared. Guan Zumei said, "The events in Chuzhou have hit him hard. He needs some time to recover his spirits. Hopefully, after some time, he will regain his determination." Lin Chaoying then took her leave.
Gou'er bid farewell to Guan Zumei and followed her away, carrying her bundle.