A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

Having saved the life of Li Chong, the deputy commander of the central army, Yang Hu suddenly became an honored guest in the central army tent.

The officers who had just been dismissive of the young medical officer now looked at him with greater respect. His ability to snatch people from the jaws of death left them no choice but to admire him.

Li Chong was moved to tears and insisted that Yang Hu stay longer, offering him tea and expressing his gratitude. Yang Hu was also happy to use this excuse to linger a little longer in this central military location.

He responded with a humble expression, but his eyes never stopped moving.

The central command tent was divided into several sections, heavily guarded, and mostly frequented by military officers and clerks. Under the pretext of apologizing, changing clothes, and walking around, Yang Hu meticulously memorized the layout of the place.

The leaked weapons, the poisoned arrows, the discarded cotton-padded clothes, the poisoning of the well, the fire that led to the invasion of the country… each and every one of these acts of treason and collusion with the enemy had to be orchestrated by the central army. That hand must be hidden deep within these layers of tents.

What he was looking for was even the slightest flaw revealed by that hand.

Qin Ying, disguised as a medicine boy, followed closely behind him, carrying a medicine box.

She lowered her head, held her breath, and hid the sharpness honed through countless battles beneath her hunched back and coarse clothes. Yet, in this once-familiar central command tent, her heart was more restless than anyone else's.

She recognized every brick, tile, blade of grass, and tree here.

The flags and drums at the corner of the tent, the map on the table, and even the old soldier guarding outside the tent, whom she could no longer recognize, all looked the same as they did back then.

Years ago, as the granddaughter of the Duke of Zhenguo and a princess ordered to patrol the border, she set off from this very tent, full of vigor and ambition. But now, she can only disguise herself as a meek and submissive medicine boy, like a ghost, sneaking back to this familiar land.

Things have changed, people are gone, it feels like a lifetime ago, like an old dream that can never be relived.

A pang of sorrow quietly welled up in her heart. But she quickly suppressed this emotion. This was not the time for melancholy. She and Yang Hu had infiltrated this dangerous place on a knife's edge; the slightest mistake would mean certain death.

The unexpected turn of events occurred when Yang Hu followed Li Chong out of the tent.

An elderly general with gray hair and beard walked towards us.

The old general was weathered and worn, but his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's. He and Li Chongxian were acquaintances, so he stopped and exchanged a few pleasantries.

The old general's surname was Zhou. He was a highly respected veteran in the army and had fought alongside the army in battles across the land.

Just then, his gaze inadvertently swept over Qin Ying, who was following behind Yang Hu.

That casual glance suddenly stopped on Qin Ying's face, as if it had been seized by something.

The veteran's eyes changed little by little.

From initial casualness to doubt, and then to a kind of horrified horror as if he had seen a ghost. He stared intently at Qin Ying's eyes and brows, his lips trembling, as if trying to recognize a deceased person long buried in the yellow earth from that deliberately hunched, ashy face.

"You...you medicine boy," the old general's voice was dry and trembling, "raise your head. How come you look so much like...?"

Qin Ying's heart sank suddenly.

Her hand, hanging limply in her sleeve, instinctively tightened its grip on the short knife she never parted with. A long-forgotten killing intent, belonging to the battlefield, quietly rose from her spine.

If she were recognized, her identity as someone who "fought valiantly and died for her country" would be exposed. At that time, not only herself, but also Yang Hu, and this major case of an internal traitor that had been so hard to uncover, would all be destroyed.

Yang Hu saw all of this.

He knew better than anyone that if the old general glanced at him a few more times, Qin Ying would be completely exposed. And given Qin Ying's temperament, if pushed to the brink, he might actually draw his sword. Drawing his sword in the central command tent would be tantamount to courting death.

We must not let things get to that point.

At the critical moment, Yang Hu suddenly stumbled, cried out in pain, and veered towards the old general.

He grabbed the old general's arm and repeatedly apologized, "General, please forgive me! Please forgive me! I was treating Lord Li in the tent just now, and it took a lot of effort. Now my vision went black and I can't stand up."

This commotion conveniently drew the old general's attention away from Qin Ying.

"It's alright, it's alright." The old general came to his senses, glanced at Yang Hu, whose face was deathly pale, and then subconsciously glanced at Qin Ying.

But Qin Ying had already taken advantage of the chaos to lower her head even further, burying her face deep in the shadows, and quietly retreated behind the tent pillar.

There was no need for a single word between her and Yang Hu. The days they had spent facing danger side by side had already forged an unspoken understanding between them. With just a glance or a gesture from him, she knew how to cooperate.

The old general stared at it for a long time, then finally shook his head, suppressing his surprise and doubt.

"Never mind, I must be seeing things." He sighed, his tone carrying a hint of indescribable melancholy. "My beloved is long gone, and I... have been obsessed with missing her."

After saying goodbye to Li Chong, he turned and left dejectedly.

Only after General Zhou's lonely figure completely disappeared from the tent entrance did Qin Ying slowly loosen his clenched, white hand.

That wistful sigh made Qin Ying's nose tingle for no apparent reason.

She recognized General Zhou. Years ago, when she was ordered to go to war, the old general had patted her on the shoulder and told her to be careful in everything. Now, so close, she could not acknowledge him, and could only watch helplessly as he left with a heart full of sorrow.

A tremendous crisis of exposure was averted by Yang Hu with effortless skill.

Neither of them felt at ease.

In this central command tent, there were far more than just this one person who recognized Qin Ying from her past. The longer she stayed, the greater the risk of her identity being exposed.

The old general from earlier was one of my father's former subordinates, and had some connections with the Lu family. His failure to recognize him was a stroke of luck, and more importantly, no one could have imagined that the young princess, already rumored to have "died for her country," would disguise herself as a medicine boy and sneak back to this border. But such good fortune wouldn't come every time.

"That was close." After leaving the central army and reaching a secluded place, Qin Yingcai breathed a long sigh of relief, though his usually aloof face still showed some lingering fear.

"It's my fault for dragging you down with me."

"Don't talk about implicating us." Yang Hu shook his head. "We're in the same boat now. We share the same fate, whether it's prosperity or ruin."

He paused, his voice extremely low, but his eyes grew even more determined.

"But this also means we need to hurry. This pool of water is deeper than we thought. If we delay any longer, something bad will inevitably go wrong. Fortunately, I can already vaguely see the tail of that hand."

Amidst the wind and snow, the imposing central command tent was dimly lit, its depths unfathomable.

Inside the tent, those treacherous schemes of collusion with the enemy and betrayal of the country were still operating secretly.

The hand hidden deepest within was completely unaware of everything that had happened in the tent that day. It could never have imagined that the young physician who had saved Li Chong's life was already like a sharp blade about to be drawn, silently pressed against its throat.

A battle that will determine the fate of the border and affect the lives of countless people is quietly approaching its most dangerous moment in this silent, dark night.