As a sacred site for stargazing since ancient times, the night sky of Suyan in Lingxi should have been a tapestry of brilliant stars and enchanting moonlight.
However, in the heart of the desert, there were no city lights to be found. Once dark clouds veiled the heavens and the celestial lights faded, the vast expanse of the sky transformed into a suffocating shroud of violet-black, instilling a sense of despair in anyone who dared to look up.
Xiao Nanhui strained her eyes, her sockets aching from the dryness.
Her ears were the first to catch a faint, subtle sound in the air, and only then did she spot the eerie mass of black.
The darkness resembled a small patch of storm cloud; without careful scrutiny, it was indistinguishable from the night sky. Yet it moved with terrifying speed, accompanied by bursts of sharp screeches. In an instant, it had drawn much closer.
Her spine went taut. With a flick of her fingers, she released her first arrow.
The mass of black shifted like smoke. The arrow passed through it as if piercing a layer of dark mist, leaving not a single mark behind.
She notched and fired two more arrows in rapid succession, but the result was the same.
Beside her, Lu Songping said in a low voice, "Don't stop."
Xiao Nanhui’s heart hammered like a drum. her chest constricted violently, forcing blood to surge into her arms and eyes.
She moved with frantic precision—drawing, notching, aiming, and releasing.
The hard fletching of the arrows danced between her fingers, turning into streaks of silver light that vanished into the dark sky.
The dim light of the night caused her pupils to dilate, but her focus trembled as she tracked the moving shadows. Fine beads of sweat broke out on her brow.
*How is this possible... I can't hit them at all?*
To prove herself worthy of the white bow Xiao Zhun had given her, she had once poured all her leisure time into archery. Even if she couldn't match the legendary marksmen with eagle-like vision, she considered herself top-tier.
Yet, against these ghostly things, she couldn't land a single shot.
The shadows tangled together, shrieking and howling as if they knew she was powerless against them, moving forward with arrogant speed.
Once the targets crossed the ridge of the hill, they would be beyond the optimal range.
Lu Songping finally moved. He drew his prepared longbow to full extension. Out of the corner of her eye, Xiao Nanhui caught a glimpse of the arrow on his string and couldn't help but pause for a moment.
It had a long head and narrow wings, with tail feathers that spiraled inward. The shaft and the head were a near-seamless piece of silver-white, slender and straight. Resting on the string, it was as steady as a beam of dawn light.
Silently, Lu Songping released his first arrow.
The arrow grazed the shadow, scattering the mass into several distinct black dots.
Xiao Nanhui finally saw the true face of the shadows.
Membranous wings and sharp fangs, spectral and elusive—it was a swarm of night-flying Ghost-faced Bats.
They huddled together as they approached the hill, the sound of their wings rubbing together creating a dense, grating noise that felt like it was scraping against one's bones.
In the next heartbeat, she noticed something different about one of the bats; something seemed to be hanging from it.
That was their true target tonight.
The bats' formation had been disrupted and was quickly reforming. She hastily fired another arrow, isolating the target bat from the rest of the swarm.
Lu Songping’s second arrow followed immediately. Although the creature dodged it with a mid-air roll, the arrow grazed its wing, slowing it down and causing it to fall further behind the swarm.
Xiao Nanhui fired a follow-up shot, but when she reached for her quiver again, her hand met only air.
Her quiver was empty.
She looked at Lu Songping.
From the start, Lu Songping’s quiver had only held three arrows.
He had fired two; only one remained.
She didn't dare speak, her breath held tight in her chest.
Lu Songping’s hand remained perfectly steady. If not for the tip of the arrow slowly tracking the target, he would have appeared completely frozen.
The swarm had already passed the ridge. The last bat, trailing behind, was about to vanish forever into the cover of the night.
Lu Songping’s tensed fingers finally released. The slender silver arrow flew out soundlessly, like a silver snake swimming through a pool of ink.
Only half a blink of an eye passed, yet it felt as long as a day.
Finally, Xiao Nanhui saw the fast-moving shadow jerk before tumbling down like a falling leaf. The breath she had been holding in her throat finally escaped in a long sigh.
The two of them rushed toward the fallen bat, but the creature wasn't entirely dead. It struggled, rolling toward a steep slope, seemingly about to plunge into the valley below.
In that critical moment, Xiao Nanhui swiftly drew Pingxian and threw it with a backhand motion.
Pingxian whistled through the air, and with a sharp *clack*, it pinned the struggling bat firmly to the ground.
Lu Songping, panting slightly, glanced at her. His expression finally shifted, and he said briefly, "Good spear work."
With that, he stepped forward, picked up the dead bat, and inspected the object tied to its leg.
She followed closely, warily eyeing the hideous, sharp-fanged creature.
"This thing is as troublesome as the night owls of the Andao Academy."
Lu Songping glanced at her and spoke truthfully. "Night bats are no match for night owls, but they excel in being elusive. They are most difficult to deal with when in a swarm. When used to carry secret messages, the swarm provides cover, giving them a high chance of escape."
"From the way you talk, it sounds like you've dealt with them before?"
Lu Songping gave a soft hum of affirmation. He pulled the silver arrow from the bat's body, wiped it clean, and carefully placed it back in his quiver.
"If I hadn't, why would I have been willing to use three Cloud-Treading Arrows right from the start?"
Xiao Nanhui stared at his quiver and curled her lip, thinking: *So they're precious items. No wonder he used them himself but gave me ordinary arrows.*
But in the next instant, she understood. Lu Songping must have anticipated this scenario and planned accordingly.
He never expected her to hit the target. He had her use the King's Bow to fire heavy arrows to churn the air, forcing the messenger bat to change its flight path so he could intercept and kill it with his Cloud-Treading Arrows.
Such a maneuver required not only a marksman's vision and precision but also the ability to predict a target's movement. It was a feat only a top-tier expert could achieve.
With such skill, why was he a mere Governor?
Could he be a deserter from the Black Feather Camp who had run off to Jizhou to steal someone else's position?
The more Xiao Nanhui thought about it, the more incredible it seemed. She looked Lu Songping up and down.
"You're a Governor. What exactly does His Majesty have you doing out here in the middle of the night?"
"Thanks to you, Officer Xiao, I'm catching a spy."
"Isn't the spy..."
*Isn't the spy you?*
She didn't have the heart to say the second half of the sentence out loud.
But she couldn't be blamed; this man was truly suspicious.
Lu Songping glanced at her, reading the woman's unspoken words with ease. He dropped a dry remark: "They say soldiers take after their commanders. Your spear is indeed formidable, Officer Xiao, but it's a pity it can't bend."
He was mocking her, wasn't he? Mocking her for being thick-headed?
"Hmph. Even if it can't bend, it can still trade three hundred blows with you."
She was referring to that night at the Prince of Kang’s temporary palace.
For some reason, Lu Songping’s expression gradually turned strange. He stared at Xiao Nanhui’s face for a moment, as if suddenly realizing something.
"The assault on Sanmu Pass was a sudden move by His Majesty. The Jizhou garrison and the Governor all rushed there overnight, trembling with anxiety over the march route—it was quite a pathetic sight. Now, I finally understand why it was so."
His words were cryptic, leaving Xiao Nanhui confused, though she did catch one key piece of information.
"When the Black Feather Camp was at Sanmu Pass, were you also..."
Her words trailed off. She truly didn't want to ask the question she was afraid to hear the answer to.
However, Lu Songping clearly knew what she wanted to ask. He raised an eyebrow meaningfully.
"At that time, Officer Xiao fought with such blood-soaked valor that I felt great admiration."
He really had been there.
Thinking of how pathetic she must have looked then, Xiao Nanhui felt her forehead flush, a vein throbbing in the center of her brow.
"That... that was a desperate measure..."
Lu Songping, however, didn't seem to care about her bruised pride. He packed up the bat's carcass and turned to walk down the hill.
"I must hurry back to report. If you wish to stay here and admire the moon, Officer Xiao, I won't disturb you."
He was as light as a swallow; before he had even finished his sentence, his voice was already drifting from a distance.
The cold wind blew, and Xiao Nanhui rubbed her nose, feeling as though she had been used.
The kind of used where you're kicked aside the moment the job is done.
****** ****** ******
The time it took for a stick of incense to burn passed quickly.
The main tent was once again crowded. The generals and accompanying officials were all waiting with bated breath for the Emperor's response, hoping to end this agonizing council.
The Emperor looked exactly as he had before. There was no trace of fatigue on his face; he seemed to quite enjoy this tug-of-war and was in no hurry to end it.
Just as the tension became unbearable and people were about to give up, hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent.
Everyone’s ears perked up, wondering what new drama was about to unfold.
After a brief announcement, Lu Songping appeared in the tent, looking travel-worn. He tossed something onto the ground and bowed.
"Your servant, Lu Songping, greets Your Majesty."
Wasn't Lu Songping excused from this council? Why would he suddenly appear now?
The people in the tent kept their eyes forward, but every heart was squinting at Lu Songping.
Among them were many who felt disdain and dissatisfaction. Many had no good feelings toward this young Governor. Who knew if he had a hand in the Prince of Kang’s death, or if he had tried to claim Jizhou as his own territory afterward?
"So it is Governor Lu. I previously granted you leave; I wonder why you have appeared here now?"
The Emperor was clearly lenient toward Lu Songping, which sparked even more resentment among the others.
So leave *was* an option? If they had known, they wouldn't have waded into this mess, only to be forced to "stand guard" all night for nothing.
"In response to Your Majesty, I was hunting outside the camp tonight and unexpectedly killed a creature. I have brought it to present to Your Majesty."
After speaking, Lu Songping unfurled the black mass on the ground. Blood and clumps of wet black fur were revealed—it was a dead bat.
The generals in the tent scoffed in unison, while the civil officials gasped.
"Has Governor Lu been driven mad by the
