Nine Nights Owl Song

April 25th, the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

Liangzhou.

The sandstorms in the western region were much greater than Su Jiuge had imagined.

After leaving Luojing, it took five days to travel. For the first three days, we could still see villages and fields, but the further west we went, the more desolate it became.

On the fourth day, only bare yellow earth and the occasional clump of withered camel thorns remained on both sides of the road.

The wind blew from morning till night, carrying fine sand that stung her face. Su Jiuge covered her mouth and nose with a face towel, leaving only her eyes exposed.

Shen Qing followed behind her, also wearing a face mask.

Zhao Ying, unfazed by the sandstorm, rode on horseback, looking around and occasionally remarking, "This place is no place for humans to live."

Zhao Xiaohe sat in the carriage, peeking out through a crack in the curtain, but her eyes were stung by the sand and she cried out as she shrank back inside.

Liangzhou City is in sight.

The city wall is made of rammed earth, and it is pitted and uneven from being eroded by wind and sand, like an old man's face.

Flags on the city wall were askew, and the defending soldiers stood sparsely, their armor covered in dust.

After the western garrison was defeated, they retreated to Liangzhou, where morale plummeted.

Su Jiuge reined in her horse and looked at the city.

She had been to Liangzhou—last December, when she killed Chen Beixuan.

At that time, Liangzhou was the territory of the Blood Hall, and the streets were filled with the stench of blood.

Liangzhou is now the last line of defense in the western border of Daliang. Once Liangzhou falls, the Qiang cavalry will march straight into Guanzhong.

Luoyang is in danger, and Daliang is in danger.

"Master, shall we go into the city?" Shen Qing's muffled voice came from behind his mask.

Su Jiuge nodded.

"Go into town."

The scene inside Liangzhou City was even more shocking than outside the city.

Wounded soldiers lay on the street, missing limbs, their groans echoing through the air.

The people fled eastward with their families, pushing wheelbarrows, carrying loads on their shoulders, and with bundles on their backs. Every face showed the same word—fear.

News of the death of the Western Border Military Governor had spread throughout Liangzhou. One hundred thousand Qiang cavalry broke through Yumen Pass and captured three cities in succession, but the imperial reinforcements were slow to arrive.

Can Liangzhou be defended? Nobody knows.

Su Jiuge rode her horse through the streets, and the people quickly made way for her. This was not because of the people behind her—the members of the Dark Pavilion, all dressed in black, expressionless, exuding an aura of menace.

A wounded soldier lay on the roadside, his left leg missing below the knee, the wound wrapped with rags, the blood already dried.

He looked up at Su Jiuge, his eyes vacant.

"Have reinforcements arrived?" The voice was hoarse.

Su Jiuge reined in her horse and looked down at him.

"They're here."

The wounded soldier's eyes lit up for a moment.

"The imperial court has sent people? How many? When will they arrive?" Su Jiuge remained silent for a moment.

"I brought dozens of people with me."

The light in the wounded soldier's eyes went out again.

"What's the use of dozens of people?"

Su Jiuge did not answer and continued riding.

The wounded soldier's voice came from behind:

"A few dozen people are just a drop in the ocean..." Zhao Ying glanced back at the wounded soldiers but didn't say anything.

Liangzhou Prefecture Government Office.

Su Jiuge summoned the generals of the western border garrison.

There were more than a dozen people standing in the hall, including adjutant, guerrilla, general, and garrison commander. Their ranks were not high, but they were all retired from the front lines.

His armor was torn, his sword was dulled, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was filled with exhaustion and despair.

The military governor of the western border was killed in battle, and the deputy military governor was seriously wounded, leaving the region leaderless.

They saw Su Jiuge—a young girl dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, with a sword hanging at her waist and her hair tied in a braid—some people frowned, some shook their heads, and some sneered.

Su Jiuge took out the imperial edict from her waist seal and unfolded it.

"Marquis Dingyuan, Su Zhentian, will lead his army to Liangzhou soon. I, Su Jiuge, have been appointed by His Majesty as the military supervisor of the Western Frontier. From this day forward, military affairs in the Western Frontier will be jointly handled by me and Marquis Dingyuan. Anyone who disobeys will be—"

She didn't read the flowery words from the imperial edict; her voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the hall could hear her.

"cut."

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

Marquis Dingyuan, Su Zhentian—the descendant of a famous general, the God of War of the Northern Frontier—arrived in the Western Frontier, and all the generals were convinced of his worth.

Su Jiuge, the military supervisor—the emperor's spy was a seventeen-year-old girl. Several people looked displeased. A lieutenant general stepped forward; he was in his early thirties, with a full beard.

"Supervisor Su, if I may be so bold as to ask, have you ever led troops? Have you ever fought in a battle?"

Su Jiuge looked at him.

"no."

The adjutant choked for a moment.

He hadn't expected her to be so direct, and he was prepared with a lot of words to refute her.

Su Jiuge didn't give him a chance to refute.

"I've never led troops, never fought a battle, never been on a battlefield. But you have, you've led, you've fought, you've been there. How many years have you held the western border? How many battles have you fought? How many enemies have you killed? How many of your comrades have died?"

Su Jiuge looked at everyone in the lobby.

"I'm not here to steal your credit, not here to find fault with you, not here to act like a big shot. I'm here to defend Liangzhou with you."

The lobby was extremely quiet.

The generals looked into Su Jiuge's eyes, into her bright black eyes, and saw no condescending scrutiny, only one meaning—we will live and die together.

The adjutant clasped his hands and knelt on one knee.

"This humble general is willing to obey the supervisor's orders." Then, the second, the third... the generals knelt down one after another.

Su Jiuge looked at the generals kneeling in the hall.

"Get up, all of you. Go and take care of the wounded. Go and reinforce the city walls. Go and distribute the weapons and armor. The Marquis of Dingyuan's army will arrive within five days. We will hold the city for these five days."

The generals accepted their orders and left.

Zhao Ying stood at the door, watching Su Jiuge's back.

She stood in front of the map studying the terrain, her jawline taut.

Zhao Ying suddenly remembered what Xiao Yan had said on their wedding night—that she would shoulder everything alone.

From the secret chamber to the Marquis's mansion, from the Marquis's mansion to the imperial court, and from the imperial court to the western border.

They will have to shoulder the burden of the world from now on.

Zhao Ying walked over,

"Master, how do you plan to defend for these five days?"

Su Jiuge did not look up.

"The main force of the Qiang tribe is still resting, but small groups of cavalry will come to harass us. Leave the city defense to the adjutant generals. I have other things to do."

Zhao Ying asked what was wrong.

Su Jiuge raised her head.

"Assassination."

Fifty li outside Liangzhou City, a Qiang ethnic outpost camp.

Su Jiuge, along with Zhao Ying, Shen Qing, and several assassins from the Dark Pavilion, sneaked out of the camp under the cover of night.

The campsite wasn't large, with about twenty or thirty tents and around two hundred people.

The Qiang cavalry outposts were responsible for scouting the movements of Liangzhou City. The commander's tent was the largest and most conspicuous in the center of the camp.

Su Jiuge lay prone behind the sand dune, observing the camp.

"Zhao Ying, you enter from the east. Shen Qing, you enter from the west. I'll enter from the front. Eliminate the sentries first, and act simultaneously upon hearing the signal."

Zhao Ying grinned.

"Master, is this an assassination or a direct assault?"

Su Jiuge said, "Assassination. If discovered, then a direct assault."

Zhao Ying's smile widened even more.

Zhao Ying's assassination was swift and clean. The short blade flashed in the moonlight, and the sentry's throat was split open, and he fell silently to the ground.

Shen Qing sneaked in from the west, his sword flashing like lightning, a single strike sealing the throat.

Su Jiuge sneaked in from the front, silently approaching the commander's tent.

The tent was brightly lit, and the commander-in-chief was looking at a map—a burly man in his forties, shirtless, revealing his muscular physique.

On the table in front of him were a wine jug and dried meat.

Su Jiuge lifted the tent flap and went inside, pressing the tip of her knife against his throat.

The head coach suddenly looked up.

He saw a woman in black standing in front of him, a knife already at her neck.

He wanted to shout, but he couldn't.

Su Jiuge asked him in Qiang language:

When will your main force attack the city?

The coach's pupils suddenly contracted.

"You...you speak Qiang language?" Su Jiuge did not answer.

The old drunkard taught him that.

"Within five days, Helian Tieshu will wait for the supplies from the rear to arrive before attacking the city."

Su Jiuge nodded.

The blade sliced ​​across his throat.

Zhao Ying poked her head in from outside the tent.

"Master, it's resolved. Two hundred and thirty-seven people, not a single one escaped."

Su Jiuge stepped out of the tent, wiped her knife clean on the corpse, and sheathed it. Behind her lay the wiped-out Qiang outpost camp, with over two hundred corpses, not a single survivor.

"Let's go back."

Shen Qing emerged from the shadows, the blood on his sword still wet. Su Jiuge led them away into the night.

On April 26th, Su Jiuge led the Dark Pavilion to massacre three Qiang outpost camps.

On April 27th, a Qiang tribe's grain and supplies were burned.

On April 28th, they robbed a grain transport team of the Qiang people.

Before the main Qiang army could move, its vanguard was already in disarray.

Helian Tieshu flew into a rage in the commander's tent.

"Night Owl! The Night Owl of Daliang is in Liangzhou!"

On April 29th, Marquis Dingyuan Su Zhentian led an army of 30,000 to Liangzhou.

Su Jiuge stood at the city gate to greet her father.

Su Zhentian sat astride his horse, his armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight. He had aged; his temples were completely white, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper than they had been last year.

But his back remained straight, and his eyes remained bright.

Su Zhentian reined in his horse and looked down at Su Jiuge.

"Supervisor, you've worked hard."

Su Jiuge looked up at her father.

"Commander, the city's military preparations are complete. Please enter the city."

Su Zhentian nodded and rode his horse into the city. Su Jiuge followed behind him.

April 29th, the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

The army of Marquis Dingyuan arrived in Liangzhou.

The morale of the western garrison soared, and Liangzhou City was revived from despair. Soldiers lined the city walls, watching the banners of the 30,000 reinforcements flutter in the wind.

Su Zhentian stood on the city wall, looking into the distance.

"Jiuge, what have you been doing these past five days?"

Su Jiuge stood next to him.

"Some people were killed, and some grain was burned."

Su Zhentian's lips curved slightly.

"She truly is my daughter."

Su Jiuge did not respond.

Su Zhentian turned and walked down the city wall.

"Let's go and discuss this. The Qiang army numbers 100,000, with 30,000 defenders and 30,000 reinforcements, totaling 60,000. We are outnumbered. This battle will be difficult."

Su Jiuge left with her father.