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

The barbarian leader's first wave of attacks was repelled, and the sounds of fighting on the walls of Qing Shi Kou gradually subsided, allowing them a brief respite.

In Yang Hu's wounded soldiers' camp, the stench of blood had not yet dissipated, and the seriously wounded soldiers were still groaning softly. But what he cared about most was the roll of military reports that Su Heng had risked her life to salvage from the fire.

As night deepened, Yang Hu, Qin Ying, and Su Heng, avoiding the attention of others, gathered in a secluded tent behind the wounded soldiers' camp. By the dim light of an oil lamp, they carefully unfolded the roll of paper that had been rescued from the fire, inch by inch.

The paper was an archived draft of a military report from three years ago that read "Fighted to the death for the country." The corners of the paper were charred black by fire, and the edges were curled up, but the characters in the middle were still legible.

Su Heng's fingertips trembled slightly. For this manuscript, she had lived in anonymity, disguised herself as a military clerk, and spent three whole years in the archives of the military law department; last night, she even risked her life to protect it from the flames.

"This is it." Su Heng pointed to the vermilion signature at the end of the military report, her voice extremely low. "My father's battalion of three thousand soldiers were clearly killed by that hand's scheme, collusion with the enemy, and incitement of barbarians. But on this military report, it's recorded as 'fighting to the death, attacked and wiped out.' The person who signed this report and erased three thousand lives with a single stroke has their signature right here."

Yang Hu leaned closer to take a closer look.

The signature was a stylized monogram, its strokes flowing and intertwined, making it impossible for an ordinary person to recognize any of the characters. Next to the signature was a small personal seal, its inscription also blurred and difficult to decipher.

The practice of hiding one's name in a monogram and even engraving a vague personal seal itself exudes a sinister and clandestine air. From the moment the person who signed this military report put pen to paper, they had no intention of letting anyone recognize their identity.

"I recognize this signature and this seal." Qin Ying, who had been calm all along, suddenly spoke, her clear, cold eyes revealing an uncontrollable chill.

She grew up in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, a place teeming with talented generals. Influenced by her grandfather, she was more familiar than anyone with the intricacies of military affairs, from troop deployment to official documents and seals. Although she had faked her death and disguised herself as an inconspicuous medicine boy over the years, the knowledge and experience she had gained in the military could not be erased.

"This is the signature of the Military Law Department." She pointed to the vermilion signature and said, word by word, "The Military Law Department is in charge of the military discipline and the verification of military reports for a battalion. A report of a soldier's death must pass through the Military Law Department and be signed and stamped before it can be issued and become an ironclad case. Without this step, the military report is just a piece of waste paper and cannot be counted."

Su Heng's breath hitched.

Military Law Division.

A few days ago, she was investigating a case in the archives of the Military Law Department. She ended up investigating Zhou, the military law clerk, which led to the deadly fire that was used to silence him.

"Not just the Military Law Department." Yang Hu brought the roll of paper closer to the lamplight, pointing to a line of inconspicuous small print on the back of the military report. His eyes darkened. "Look here. For this military report to be considered legitimate, there first needs to be a 'List of Military Equipment and Provisions Losses' as a pretext. Three thousand soldiers died in battle, so naturally, their weapons and provisions were 'destroyed' as well. The signatures on this list..."

He paused.

"It belongs to the Quartermaster Department. It's Sun Canjun's mark."

The small tent fell into a deathly silence.

All three of them understood the crucial matter hidden behind the signature.

For a fake military report of martyrdom to be convincingly presented, it required the signature and verification of the Military Law Department and the covering up of the shortfall in military equipment and provisions by the Logistics Department; the signatures of both departments were indispensable. These two departments, one wielding the pen of military discipline and the other controlling the lifeline of provisions, had always kept to themselves and were not subordinate to each other.

Now, they have signed their seals one after the other on the same fake military report that killed three thousand soldiers.

Such a powerful and overarching operation, spanning two departments, was something that no mere military advisor like Zhou Lushi or Sun Canjun could accomplish. They lacked the courage and authority to order another department to cover up their enormous deficit.

"The Military Law Department and the Logistics Department are two separate entities, each supposed to go its own way," Yang Hu said, each word distinct, his calm eyes revealing an unyielding coldness. "But on this one military report, they've been twisted into one. What does that mean? It means there's a hand that can simultaneously command Zhou, the Registrar of the Military Law Department, and Sun, the Military Advisor of the Logistics Department."

Qin Ying continued, her voice carrying a chilling undertone.

"The person who can simultaneously suppress both of these departments must be above them." Her fingertip lightly traced between the two signatures. "The Military Law Department controls military discipline and pen, while the Logistics Department holds the reins of food supplies. These two departments have always been separate entities, neither willing to submit to the other. In the Western Camp, there are only a handful of people who can make both of them bow down and sign the same fake military report."

She was a former member of this Western Camp, and she knew the ranks and positions of the officers in the camp, who could control whom, very well. Counting upwards, there were only a handful of people who could issue orders beyond the military law and supply departments.

The hand hidden deep within the central command, through these two signatures, revealed its general outline to the three for the first time.

Previously, the investigation only traced back to Zhou, the registrar of the Military Law Department, and Sun, the military advisor of the Supply Department. It was always thought that these two were investigating separately, like two unrelated threads. Now, this document brings the signatures of both parties together, and the two threads have finally been joined into one.

It wasn't Zhou the Registrar, nor Sun the Military Advisor. The two who signed were merely its outstretched fingers.

The hand that was actually holding the knife was pressing down on the heads of the two officers.

Yang Hu carefully rolled up the bottom of the roll and hid it close to his body.

"The evidence is there, the signatures are there," he said in a deep voice, a cold fire igniting in his calm eyes. "Treating an illness is like this: if the right medicine is prescribed, even the most intractable disease can be cured by addressing its root cause. Investigating a case is the same. These two signatures are the two roots of that problem that's exposed. Follow these two signatures upwards, investigate all the documents handled jointly by the Military Law and Logistics Departments over the past few years, which military reports, which allocations, were handled by these two departments working together as a team. The more cases they handle, the clearer the outline of that hand becomes."

Su Heng nodded emphatically. She had been disguised as a clerk for three years. She had no other skills, but examining documents and comparing handwriting and signatures were her forte. With this file as a foundation, she could find out which matters in those mountains of old files were related to the military law and supply departments better than anyone else.

The resolute determination honed over three years of forbearance in her eyes shone brighter than a lamp.

None of the three expected that this scroll, which should have been reduced to ashes in the fire, would become the biggest worry for that hand.

He thought that a single fire could burn away the injustice done to three thousand soldiers and silence Su Heng's deadly tongue.

But it miscalculated.

The evidence is still there, the signature is still there, and the three people who are still clinging to it are still there.

After learning that the scroll had not been burned to ashes in the fire, the sinister gaze hidden in the central command tent fixed itself firmly on the three men.

A deadly and impenetrable scheme, even more ruthless and airtight than the fire that night, is quietly unfolding in the shadows.