As Zhan Qi left to oversee the cleanup, Xue Ruhong approached and said, "Great General, this subordinate feels that Kai Mu’s retreat is very suspicious."
Feng Xiyan nodded in agreement. "This general thinks so too."
Xue Ruhong paused for a moment before adding, "Do you think Kai Mu has other plans, and today’s attack was just a decoy?"
Feng Xiyan looked down at the battlefield, at the corpses strewn across the ground, and shook his head.
"No. Today’s battle showed how desperate Kai Mu was."
"Then why did he suddenly retreat?" Xue Ruhong asked in confusion. "Could it be that he saw our weapons were superior to theirs and realized they can’t win the war?"
Feng Xiyan recalled the man who had been speaking to Kai Mu earlier.
Frowning slightly, he replied, "Kai Mu is cunning, but also prideful and hot-tempered. With that kind of pride, there is no way he would choose to retreat on his own."
Feng Xiyan paused for a second, then added with certainty, "Unless—someone advised him to."
Xue Ruhong raised an eyebrow, surprise in his voice. "Who could possibly have that much influence over him?"
Feng Xiyan met his gaze and replied, "A man was riding beside Kai Mu today. He wasn’t wearing armor and had the air of a scholar. This general suspects that he is the famous mysterious military advisor of the Yuezhi Tribe."
Listening to what he said, something seemed to click for Xue Ruhong.
"Great General, this subordinate has heard of that military advisor. Rumor has it that he was once a student of the Wise King. However, after betraying his teacher, the Wise King severed their master-disciple relationship."
Feng Xiyan frowned and said, "If that man really was a student of the Wise King, then he is no ordinary person. If Kai Mu is taking advice from someone like him, it will be like adding wings to a tiger. Defeating the Yuezhi Tribe will become much more difficult."
Xue Ruhong’s expression turned gloomy at his words.
Sensing his low mood, Feng Xiyan said, "It’s still only a guess. For now, we must increase patrols and stay vigilant."
Xue Ruhong clasped his fists and accepted the order, "Yes, Great General. This subordinate will coordinate with General Fan and increase the patrols around the city."
While the Feng Army’s soldiers busied themselves with cleaning up the battlefield, Feng Xiyan returned to his tent to let Bai Hanyun know about their victory.
Standing in front of the altar, Feng Xiyan lit three sticks of incense and prayed sincerely.
"Thanks to the weapons bestowed by Fairy Bai, today, my Feng Army managed to win the battle against 200,000 soldiers of the Yuezhi Tribe without losing a single soldier. For this great favor from Heaven, Xiyan sincerely thanks Heaven and Fairy Bai for the blessings."
After finishing his prayer, Feng Xiyan stuck the incense into the burner.
As the faint smoke rose, it was drawn into the bronze mirror. In the next second, the smoke transformed into golden light particles and was absorbed by the bronze mirror.
Just as he finished praying, the antique mirror in Bai Hanyun’s bedroom lit up.
As she had been waiting for news from Feng Xiyan, Bai Hanyun quickly set down her phone and grabbed the antique mirror from the bedside table.
Looking at the glowing surface, Bai Hanyun was unable to view anything. Seeing this, she anxiously asked, "Feng Xiyan, are you there? How is your situation now?"
As her voice echoed in the tent, Feng Xiyan clasped his fists and replied, "Thanks to Heaven’s blessing and Fairy Bai’s help, we won the battle without losing a single soldier."
Upon hearing this, Bai Hanyun let out a sigh of relief. Smiling, she said, "Congratulations, Feng Xiyan."
Sensing her good mood from her tone, the corner of Feng Xiyan’s lips curved up slightly. "Thank you, Fairy Bai."
Thinking that winning a battle against the Yuezhi Tribe was no small feat, Bai Hanyun decided to reward Feng Xiyan and his soldiers.
"Feng Xiyan, since you all won the battle, let’s celebrate! I will prepare the food. You must be busy with post-war affairs, so just go do what you need to do," Bai Hanyun said as she picked up her phone and ordered food from a nearby restaurant.
Not knowing what she was planning, Feng Xiyan simply replied, "Yes, Fairy Bai."
While Bai Hanyun was busy ordering food, Feng Xiyan was likewise occupied with post-war matters.
Meanwhile, a soldier stationed at the granary of the Feng Army came to find Tan Pengtai at the east city wall.
Clasping his fists, the soldier said, "This subordinate greets General Tan."
Recognizing him as one of the granary guards, Tan Pengtai asked, "Why are you here? Something happened in the granary?"
The soldier shook his head and replied, "Reporting to General Tan. The brothers just checked the granary and cellars and found that some of the vegetables and fruits couldn’t be kept any longer."
Hearing this, Tan Pengtai frowned and muttered, "Fairy Bai keeps sending vegetables and fruits every two days. It’s indeed too much for us to consume. Given the current temperatures, even if stored in cellars, they won’t last more than a few days."
The soldier nodded and then asked, "General Tan, what should we do now?"
Tan Pengtai pondered for a moment and then replied, "This general cannot decide on this matter. You go back first. This general will report this to the Great General."
"Yes, General Tan," the soldier replied, clasping his fists.
Since there were no urgent matters on the city walls, Tan Pengtai assigned his duties to his vice-general and left to report to Feng Xiyan.
At the same time, Zhan Qi and Xue Ruhong were supervising the soldiers cleaning the battlefield outside the west gate. As they watched the soldiers burn the corpses and black smoke soar to the sky, one of Zhan Qi’s subordinates approached them.
"General Zhan, good news!"
Zhan Qi perked up at his words and asked, "What kind of good news?"