Chapter 47: Pear Blossom Needles, Revealing Intentions

Chapter 47: Pear Blossom Needles, Revealing Intentions

The expedition went smoothly at first, with Qiu Changyu at his side the entire way, guiding and advising.

Even when some of the senior generals wanted to enter the command tent to report to Ning Xishi, Qiu Changyu was there to assist.

That was until Qi Huairui's old man also entered the tent in full battle gear.

Ning Xishi: "..."

He looked at Qiu Changyu, his face a mask of shock, and Qiu Changyu quickly darted in front of him, so the others couldn't see the look on Ning Xishi's face.

At the same time, he secretly signaled Ning Xishi behind his back—"Bro, don't blow your cover now."

Ning Xishi had no choice but to put back on his unflappable mask, the kind that wouldn't crack even if the sky fell. After everyone had shared their input, Qiu Changyu wrapped things up with a summary, and the regular briefing came to a close.

Qiu Changyu had initially worried someone might see through Ning Xishi.

After all, the fact that he never spoke a word was bound to raise eyebrows.

So he slipped out after them to eavesdrop on what everyone was saying—

"The general's gotten even more imposing lately."

"When those eyes landed on me, I nearly forgot what I was supposed to say next—gave me a right scare, I tell you."

"Our general's still so young, but already this commanding—he's gonna be a force to reckon with."

Qiu Changyu: "..."

Maybe it was because the image of that playboy was too deeply ingrained in his mind, he kept thinking that even dressed up as a general, the guy would still have that roguish, flirtatious air about him—nothing like the usual stern-faced general.

But those grizzled old soldiers had sharp instincts, and they weren't wrong about that—the stronger presence they sensed was one of total command.

His general's presence was intimidating—it kept people from even thinking about stepping out of line;

But Young Master Ning's presence said "I've got everything handled," making people feel that if they just followed him and did what he said, they couldn't lose.

And on the battlefield, isn't it all about winning, period?

For a moment, Qiu Changyu stopped dead in his tracks on his way back to the tent.

A solemn respect for Young Master Ning welled up in him.

To go this long without any of the general's inner circle catching on, aside from Qiu Changyu's cover, Ning Xishi's own skill was what really mattered most.

He squinted up at the blazing sun and said, "Your Majesty, just what kind of extraordinary man did you send to our general?"

Not to mention, his general seemed genuinely smitten with Young Master Ning.

No sooner had Qiu Changyu stepped back into the tent than Ning Xishi dropped the act. He immediately slumped into the most inelegant sprawl on the couch, yet still managed to look effortlessly suave. Mainly because the guy was tall with long legs—just blessed that way.

"I nearly jumped out of my skin when I turned and saw Qi Huairui's dad," Ning Xishi said, having already removed his mask to reveal his handsome, refined face. "When I was a kid, Qi Huairui and I used to hang out. One night we were out catching fireflies by the river and completely lost track of time. His dad caught us and nearly beat us within an inch of our lives."

Ning Xishi still got the chills just thinking about it. "Ever since then, I've gone out of my way to avoid his dad. After all these years, this is the closest I've ever gotten to him."

"General Qi's just a military man—how'd he have the nerve to lay a hand on you, the Minister of Rites' own legitimate son?" Qiu Changyu asked curiously.

"Ah, well, it was the Lantern Festival that day. We went out to see the lanterns, and I spotted some child-snatcher grabbing a little girl. I told Qi Huairui to wait for me while I went to check it out. But Qi Huairui got worried something might happen to me, so he came along too. Turns out that snatcher wasn't working alone—he had a whole gang. We were just kids, so they grabbed us and tossed us onto the cart too." Ning Xishi recalled slowly. "In the end, we only got away because a rockslide on the way back spooked the horses, and the three of us managed to escape. We took the little girl home first, but we were too scared to tell our families what happened, so we decided to go to the river and pretend we'd been catching fireflies all along."

Qiu Changyu: "..."

He couldn't help but shake his head—this Young Master Ning had been a real reckless kid.

"Ah, well, when they couldn't find us, they sent out a bunch of the household staff. Turns out they caught the snatchers first, and those guys sang like canaries, while we were still back there cooking up our little story. His dad must have been searching for ages, probably thinking we'd been eaten by some mountain beast, so he gave us a beating in a blind rage."

Ning Xishi added at the end, "My dad said he was right to beat us."

Qiu Changyu: "..."

If it were his own kid, he'd say the same—that beating was well earned.

Qiu Changyu mulled it over and decided to write all this down and send it to the general.

Otherwise, if the general found out he'd been eating and sleeping alongside Young Master Ning these past days, and had talked about all this personal stuff, once the general's leg healed, he'd definitely want to throw down with him.

To save his own skin, Qiu Changyu decided to write that letter ASAP.

"Relax, don't worry," Qiu Changyu reassured. "No matter how much of a brute General Qi is, he'd never dare raise a hand against the general."

He added, "Besides, with your current skills, General Qi might not even win a one-on-one against you."

Generals mostly specialized in killing and fighting on horseback, but when it came to actual arena duels in the martial world, if Ning Xishi said he was second, nobody in this army could claim first.

But Ning Xishi's moves were still too straight-laced. He looked like a total slacker, but he was righteous to the core—in fact, his moves were so proper that Qiu Changyu found it harder to believe his fighting style was that clean than to believe he could fight in the first place.

A martial artist trains their qi—their very spirit. A man whose martial arts are that righteous, no matter how much of a rogue he acts, has to have a core of pure integrity.

That kind of person is the best friend to have, but also the easiest to stab in the back.

That was also why Qiu Changyu stuck to Ning Xishi like glue the whole time—if anything happened to Ning Xishi on his watch, he might as well offer up his head as penance.

While Qiu Changyu was still lost in thought, Ning Xishi had already made his way over to the sand table. Qiu Changyu snapped out of it, startled: "General?"

"I've figured out a few things these past few days. Let me run through the strategies they just laid out for you, and you take a look."

With that, Ning Xishi beckoned Qiu Changyu over and manually walked him through how each person said they'd lead their troops out, how they'd march, and how they'd surround the enemy.

The moment he saw the demonstration, Qiu Changyu spotted the problem.

"General Qi said he'd lead a thousand elite troops to lure the enemy in and hold Eagle Mountain to the last man. It's definitely a prime spot that's easy to defend and hard to attack, and the summit really can only hold about a thousand men. But if the Xiongnu send three thousand or more elite troops to encircle it, Eagle Mountain's in serious trouble."

When it came to business, Qiu Changyu's face turned serious.

"So I'm thinking we need to upgrade our crossbows. If we can turn them from three-shot into thirty-shot repeaters, and combine that with gunpowder and rocks, holding out for fourteen days shouldn't be too tough."

Qiu Changyu had expected Ning Xishi to say General Qi's plan wouldn't work. After all, Eagle Mountain wasn't that big, there was no cover up there, just jagged rocks everywhere—a thousand men was already the max, no way to send more.

But instead, Ning Xishi was talking about how to hold the mountain more effectively.

Before this, that was exactly the kind of thing only the general would think of and do.

Ning Xishi gestured to him: "The 'Pear Blossom Storm Needles' our Jule Gang recently developed work something like this."

With that, he dug the hidden weapon out of one of the chests he'd brought along and said, "Strategist, stand behind me—let me show you."

Qiu Changyu had already completely set aside his... well, his assumptions. Even though he felt he hadn't looked down on Young Master Ning since learning who he really was, he still realized he hadn't been taking him seriously enough.

Ning Xishi picked the lowest power setting on the mechanism and pressed down, and the silver needles shot out like a torrential downpour.

Even standing behind Ning Xishi, Qiu Changyu felt a cold sweat drench him.

"W-, what is this?" Qiu Changyu heard his own voice trembling slightly.

"The Storm of a Thousand Needles, a new type of hidden weapon. The workings aren't all that different from a repeating crossbow," Ning Xishi said, placing the device into Qiu Changyu's hand.

"Don't press it yet—there are still two bolts left inside. I only used the lowest setting."

"There are higher settings?" Qiu Changyu quickly pressed further.

"Right. The spread on that one was only about ten feet. The other two settings cover twenty and thirty feet respectively. For now, this is the maximum range," Ning Xishi said.

Qiu Changyu's eyes were already shining with excitement. This thing was incredible—if they could modify the crossbows to fire that many bolts in rapid succession, why would they worry about a thousand men failing to hold one mountain?

Ning Xishi ruthlessly shattered his fantasy: "Making such a major overhaul in such a short time is out of the question. Before I set out, I had the Left Protector of the Jule Gang bring our craftsmen along. They can help upgrade the crossbows to five barrels, and increase the range and power by about thirty percent. That's the maximum we can achieve."

Qiu Changyu was already ecstatic just hearing this, instinctively wanting to grab Ning Xishi and lift him up in celebration.

But the moment he took a step closer, he remembered Ning Xishi's identity—their general's man. No improper touching, no improper touching.

Qiu Changyu quickly stepped back and bowed deeply. "Young Master Ning has truly done me a great service. I, Qiu, offer my sincerest thanks to Young Master Ning."

As he walked out of the tent, he thought to himself: truly, the Emperor had sent their general a man who could turn the tide of fate.

·

The moment Qiu Changyu left, Ning Xishi clutched his aching lower back and collapsed onto the cot.

He had been riding hard these past days, and he felt like his back was about to snap.

But strangely enough, every morning he woke up feeling like he was done for, yet after pushing through a full day of riding, he found he could keep going.

And so the cycle repeated—the blisters on his inner thighs forming, breaking, and reforming in the same cycle.

—As long as he could hold out through this stretch, Xie Jingxing's leg injury would have a chance to heal completely.

Then, whether facing the enemy at the border or dealing with the Emperor, they would have far more leverage.

To be fair, that day in the palace, Xie Jingxing had indeed endured the pain of his injured leg and still indulged Ning Xishi's every whim. It was impossible for Ning Xishi not to soften.

He had never experienced anything like that feeling—like being a lone boat adrift on the vast ocean, with a powerful wave threatening to crash down at any moment.

And yet, he was still floating.

These were things he couldn't voice, couldn't share with anyone.

The only thing he could do was treat him a little better.

But as for deeper feelings... Ning Xishi didn't know.

If he still couldn't sense Xie Jingxing's feelings for him by now, then he truly would be heartless.

But to reciprocate that much emotion—Ning Xishi honestly admitted to himself that he couldn't do it right now.

So all he could do was try his best to be good to him.

That day in the study, Xie Jingxing had probably sensed this too, which was why he wanted to share more of his past with Ning Xishi. Unfortunately, before the conversation could even begin, it was interrupted by an urgent report from the border.

After that, they had been busy preparing for the campaign, and the opportunity never arose again.

Ning Xishi let out a sigh, wrapped himself in his blanket, and sank into a deep sleep.

==========Author's Note:==========

Good night.