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The State of Yan had once again entered a cruel and bitter winter, and the fierce, cutting snow had almost never ceased since the first day of the twelfth month.

The battle at Sima Slope had dragged on for two whole months without any sign of breakthrough, and because the heavy snow had blocked all the roads, the court was unable to send provisions to the front lines, causing the soldiers stationed at the border to starve for several days, leaving them with no choice but to dig up grass roots and chew on tree bark to fill their stomachs.

If that was not enough, they would resort to eating the corpses of their own horses.

Inside the main general’s command tent, several generals and command officers had gathered, yet none of them spoke, and the atmosphere was unbearably heavy.

About a year earlier, a rebel force opposing Her Majesty had suddenly risen in the southwestern region of the State of Yan, spreading rumors everywhere and claiming that the female Emperor’s ascension to the throne was illegitimate.

They said that the former Emperor had never intended to pass the throne to her, and that she had forced her own biological father to abdicate before confining him within the inner palace, only then seizing the imperial throne for herself.

They insisted that she was not the true sovereign selected by the mandate of heaven.

Furthermore, they said her methods were excessively ruthless and severe, surpassing even the tyrants of the past, and that she persecuted loyal officials and oppressed the common people.

“If the ruler is not benevolent, then the nation will not survive.”

These were the rebels’ accusations, some of which contained truth while others were entirely false, for although Shangguan Yan had indeed forced the former Emperor to relinquish the throne and had truly confined him afterward, she had never instituted tyranny, nor had she harmed the loyal or the innocent.

As for whether she was truly blessed by the mandate of heaven, that was something different people would judge differently depending on their own understanding.

With the imperial court being far away and unreachable, the common people in the southwest did not know what kind of person Shangguan Yan truly was, and with the rebels spreading endless rumors about her supposed atrocities, the repeated slander gradually convinced the people and led them to question Shangguan Yan’s character as the ruler of their country.

The timing of the rebels’ rise had been extremely sensitive, since while the six states maintained a superficial peace, they had long been competing against one another behind the scenes, and with tension rising along the borders, the court had devoted much of its military force to reinforcing the frontier, making a small and seemingly insignificant rebel force appear too minor to draw the court’s attention.

However, that was precisely where the problem lay.

Sima Slope belonged to Cangzhou, and Guo Mang, who served as the leading general of Cangzhou, received the court’s decree instructing him to immediately take ten thousand soldiers under his command and head to Sima Slope to eliminate the rebels.

Just like the court, he initially believed they were nothing more than a ragtag group of undisciplined stragglers that hardly warranted concern.

It was only once the battle began that he realized the enemy’s numbers were far greater than those of Cangzhou’s regular army.

No one knew where such an overwhelming force had come from, for they appeared like wild grass that had grown to cover all of Sima Slope overnight.

Guo Mang was an experienced general, and he believed that having greater numbers meant little, because they were the regular army, their soldiers possessed the strongest physiques and the best training, and their camps had been stocked with the finest provisions and the best weaponry.

To triumph despite being outnumbered seemed something that could be achieved within reach.

Yet when they actually crossed blades, Guo Mang immediately sensed that something was wrong.

These rebels were unbelievably capable fighters!

Their provisions and armor were also just as solid and refined as those of the regular army!

In every confrontation, Guo Mang suffered defeat after defeat, and instead of seizing the rebels’ base, he had even lost a city to them.

The city had no walls, and the nearby Sima Slope was a strategic location that could be both attacked and defended.

Guo Mang abandoned his previously aggressive tactics and switched to a more circuitous strategy, intending to buy time while waiting for reinforcements from neighboring Yunzhou, but unfortunately the mountains had been sealed by snow.

Not only could reinforcements not arrive, but even the most basic provisions were unable to reach them.

The soldiers were freezing and starving, the wounded received no treatment, morale had collapsed, and the army’s spirit had fallen to its lowest point.

Guo Mang had summoned his deputy generals today precisely to discuss the plan for what they should do next.

“The soldiers cannot endure any longer.”

This was the first thing Guo Mang said.

No one in the tent could refute him.

This time it was their carelessness and underestimation of the enemy that had led to such devastation, and none of them had expected the rebels in Cangzhou to be so difficult to handle, catching them all completely off guard.

As if that alone were not enough, the heavy snow sealing the mountains meant that neither provisions nor reinforcements could arrive smoothly.

Was heaven truly determined to destroy them?

“I have a plan.” Guo Mang said with a solemn expression.

But the others had little enthusiasm left, because after so many defeats, their confidence had already been shattered beyond repair.

Guo Mang understood what weighed on their minds, and in truth, he was the one suffering the most, for as the commanding general of this battle, he could not escape responsibility, whereas the others could at least say they were merely following orders, and that they fought according to the instructions given by those above them.

But could Guo Mang offer himself such consolation?

Clearly, he could not.

He used an enormous amount of strength just to hold himself together and keep his emotions from collapsing entirely, then he licked his dry, cracked and bleeding lips and said, “The enemy outnumbers us by more than two to one, and with their provisions plentiful and their strength fully sustained, it is unwise for us to engage them head-on.”

The command tent fell into complete silence, and it seemed as though not a single person had truly listened to what he said.

Guo Mang glanced at the snow drifting outside the tent, then continued, “We will strike their camp in a night raid, and we will capture or take the head of Zhou Chongyue!”

Zhou Chongyue, the leader of the rebel forces.

Rumor had it that this man was born with extraordinary strength, possessed exceptional martial prowess, and was both courageous and cunning, and it was he who had expanded an insignificant band of rebels into a force of twenty thousand in less than a year.

To take his head?

How could such a thing be easy?

Fortunately, not long ago, their scouts had reported that Zhou Chongyue had fallen from his horse while drilling his troops and had been trampled beneath its hooves, leaving him gravely injured.

This was their best opportunity to deal him a fatal blow.

Guo Mang looked solemnly at the others and said, “I know this mission is extremely difficult, but it is our only way out. Zhou Chongyue has been injured, and if we fail to kill him now, then we will never have another chance! Once he recovers and leads his troops to attack us, we will have absolutely no power to resist! In fact, we will not even need to wait until that day arrives, because every one of us will starve or freeze to death here. If we are going to die anyway, why not die on the battlefield? Killing one is worth it! Killing two is a profit! Once we reach the underworld, at least we will not face our ancestors with shame, nor will our lives have been lived in vain!”

To an ordinary person, these words might not have seemed particularly striking, but within the heart of every soldier who wished to serve the nation with loyalty, they were like sparks that rekindled their very last shred of fighting spirit.

They were not afraid of death.

What they feared was dying without meaning.

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Description:

In the suspenseful supernatural novel “Records of Mortals,” Jiang Baiyan, once a solitary and impoverished youth, finds refuge in the Shi family of Chang’an due to his extraordinary bloodline. With his clear and captivating peach blossom eyes, this seemingly innocent young man conceals a fanatical and malevolent lunatic within. Destined to succumb to darkness amidst hardship and degradation, he becomes a harbinger of chaos.

When Shi Dai suddenly transmigrates, she takes on the role of the Shi family’s young lady, the one who subjects him to countless trials, eventually leading to her demise.

The twist? She never got to finish reading the novel.

From what she knew of the plot, Jiang Baiyan was just a silent, timid, and often bullied pitiable character.

***

Jiang Baiyan had never encountered someone like Shi Dai.

After he had slaughtered all the evil creatures in the garden, the blood-stained young man, exuding a murderous aura, approached her step by step, his lips curling into a malicious smile, "Scared?"

Shi Dai responded, “You’re really amazing! I applaud you until I spin like a spiral and fly around the moon three hundred times! And also——you have dimples when you smile!"

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

After seeing her at a lantern festival with another man, Jiang Baiyan lowered his eyes, his fingers twirling her hair. He said in a mocking and sinister tone, "The mansion in the western suburbs...if I hide you there, no one will find you, right?"

Shi Dai replied, "Does it come with meals and lodging? Can I sleep in everyday? Oh, and your cooking is the best!"

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

—

Jiang Baiyan was supposed to dislike her, even hate her, but as their separation drew near, his eyes turned red and he grabbed her sleeve, pleading, "Don't abandon me, alri—”

Shi Dai responded, "Alright, alright, I’ll only have you. Mwah."

Jiang Baiyan: ...?

He hasn't finished his lines yet though…

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