"They're here!"
Prefect Dou Wenda's shrill cry ripped across the city wall like a blade.
In the next breath, Pingyang Prefecture exploded into noise.
Bells clanged. Gongs thundered. Someone beat on a hollow bamboo tube like it owed him money. Civilians grabbed whatever they could strike and made sound with the desperation of people who knew silence was a luxury.
It was barely dawn.
The sun hadn't fully climbed the horizon, but the city was already wide awake—and very much afraid.
Wang Er mounted the battlements in three long strides, eyes fixed westward. Bai Mao followed half a step behind, hand already resting on the flintlock at his back.
"Big Brother," Bai Mao asked quietly, squinting into the distance, "which banner?"
Wang Er's jaw tightened.
"Fan Shan Yao."
Bai Mao sucked in a breath.
"…That bastard."
They both knew him.
Back when they still marched under Wang Jiayin, Fan Shan Yao had been impossible to forget—not because of his tactics, not because of his leadership—
—but because the man was obnoxiously good-looking.
"So damn handsome," Bai Mao muttered darkly. "Every time I see that face, I get this overwhelming urge to put a shot right in the middle of it."
A lazy voice suddenly spoke from beside his ear.
"That's jealousy."
Bai Mao nearly jumped out of his boots.
"What the—?! Dao Xuan Tianzun?!"
Li Daoxuan's voice sounded relaxed, amused, and faintly smug.
"Mm. Just woke up. Switched perspectives. First thing I hear is you plotting facial rearrangement."
Bai Mao laughed awkwardly. "Ah… haha… Your Eminence, I was just—"
"Ventilating," Li Daoxuan finished for him. "Perfectly human. Dangerous emotion, though."
Wang Er bowed instinctively. "Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Li Daoxuan hummed in acknowledgment, then said, "So this is Fan Shan Yao?"
"Yes," Bai Mao said through clenched teeth. "Unfortunately."
"I've heard about him for a while," Li Daoxuan continued. "Everyone keeps saying how absurdly handsome he is. Bring binoculars."
A soldier rushed forward with a pair.
He hesitated for half a heartbeat, then sensibly handed them to Bai Mao instead of trying to figure out how a divine being was supposed to hold optics.
Bai Mao scanned the enemy camp.
A tattered banner flapped in the morning wind.
Fan Shan Yao.
Below it stood the bandit formation—and near the center, a man on horseback.
Broad shoulders. Straight posture. A face that, objectively speaking, could probably ruin marriages.
Bai Mao adjusted the binoculars and angled them slightly.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun."
Li Daoxuan looked.
And immediately laughed.
"Hah."
Not cruel laughter.
Disappointed laughter.
"That's it?"
Bai Mao blinked. "That's… it?"
"Handsome," Li Daoxuan allowed. "But empty. Like a lacquered bowl with nothing inside."
He paused, then added, "No depth. No weight. No cultivation behind the eyes. He's the sort of man who only looks impressive from a distance."
Wang Er nodded grimly. "A pretty bandit is still a bandit."
"Exactly." Li Daoxuan sounded satisfied. "He's not more handsome than me."
Bai Mao didn't comment on that.
Li Daoxuan continued casually, "All right. Don't waste a bullet on his face. Shoot wherever's convenient."
Bai Mao felt… vindicated.
Below the walls, the bandits began to howl.
The assault came fast.
Wang Er moved like lightning, shouting orders.
"Arquebusiers—front line!"
Two hundred gun barrels leveled.
"Fire!"
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Smoke rolled across the wall.
Arrows followed. Militia hurled logs and stones. The city roared like a beast defending its den.
The first wave broke almost instantly.
Bandits fell. Others fled. Discipline shattered.
But Fan Shan Yao stayed back, well outside gun range, watching with a smile that made Bai Mao's fingers itch.
"Tch," Bai Mao clicked his tongue. "Coward knows his distance."
The bandits withdrew—for now.
On the wall, men exhaled, shaking with adrenaline.
Prefect Dou Wenda rushed over, face pale. "Commander Wang—ammunition! How much do we have left?"
Bai Mao answered honestly. "A few dozen rounds per man."
Dou Wenda's knees nearly buckled. "That's… that's not nearly enough!"
Bai Mao looked westward.
"They won't last that long," he said calmly.
Because—
Two days earlier.
Gao Family Village.
Li Daoxuan had already seen this coming.
And Cheng Xu was already moving.
Just not recklessly.
Prison Valley was full. Overflowing. A hundred thousand lives under watch, under reform, under pressure.
You didn't leave that unattended.
So Cheng Xu locked the base down.
Then—
Only then—
The army marched.
And when they arrived—
Pingyang would not be alone.
Bai Mao tightened his grip on his rifle.
"Hold the walls," he said quietly. "Help is coming."
From above, Dao Xuan Tianzun watched.
And smiled.