Chapter 17: Impostor - Duan Xu's True Identity Revealed

 

"Clink."

Just as the crowd of onlookers began to stir, the Powang sword fell to the ground, and He Simu suddenly covered her face and wept. She cried, "My homeland Liangzhou was slaughtered by the Huqi people. My family and fellow villagers all died at their hands. When she spoke so outrageously, I was momentarily blinded by anger... I couldn't help but slay this traitor..."

She was preparing to collapse dramatically to the ground when a pair of hands steadied her arms, making it difficult to perform her intended fall.

He Simu turned to look and saw Duan Xu gazing at her meaningfully. One hand gripped her arm while the other bent down to pick up the Powang sword from the ground, sliding it back into its scabbard.

The Powang sword would only reveal its blade in the hands of someone it acknowledged. Just now in He Simu's hands, it had been razor-sharp.

In that moment of exchange, Duan Xu said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Don't casually draw my sword. I nearly killed you just now."

He Simu had noticed. When she had drawn the sword from its scabbard, Duan Xu had instinctively moved to attack her but had forcibly restrained himself. If Duan Xu had been unable to control himself—regrettably, the only one who would have been injured would be himself.

She looked at Duan Xu with tears streaming down her face and said in a loud, trembling voice, "I beg the General not to blame me."

Duan Xu raised his eyebrows. He smiled lightly as he reached out his hand, using his thumb to wipe away the blood splattered on her face. "Miss He is a meritorious official of our Tabai Army. Overcome with grief and killing an evildoer in anger—naturally, I won't blame you."

After a pause, he said softly, "How are you able to cry?"

"I bit my tongue."

"Can't you feel pain?"

"No."

"Go easier on yourself when you bite."

As the two spoke in whispers, Lin Jun walked over, stomping his foot in anger. "We hadn't yet found out how He Yan got into the granary. How could Miss He just kill her like that!"

He Simu clutched Duan Xu's sleeve and hid behind him. Duan Xu cooperatively extended his hand to protect her, turning his head to smile at Lin Jun. "Questioning today's duty guards will yield the same result. Fortunately, not much was burned, and there's no major problem."

He ordered soldiers to clean up the scene, disperse the watching crowd, and instructed Commander Han to strengthen the protection of the granary and bring in the soldiers on duty today for questioning. Then, with his hand on He Simu's shoulder, he escorted her home as he had promised.

Walking on the way back to the residence, Duan Xu asked, "Why did you deliver her across?"

It seemed he also knew the significance of the Powang sword.

"How should I put it? Let's just say I pitied her." He Simu glanced at Duan Xu and asked in return, "General, how did you come by this pair of Powang swords?"

"That's a long story. One day I met an old man on a bridge in the Southern Capital..."

At this familiar beginning, He Simu almost rolled her eyes.

But Duan Xu laughed. "This is true. I met a very young man on the bridge who claimed to be several hundred years old. He suddenly stopped me and gifted me this sword, saying the Powang sword breaks through delusions, delivers people from resentment, and those killed by it would not enter evil paths but immediately enter the cycle of rebirth. If there was affinity, it might recognize me as its master."

A young centenarian.

He Simu was silent for a moment. If she hadn't guessed wrong, this "old man" had died just a few days ago, having lived nearly five hundred years.

Bai Qing, the former master of the celestial cultivation sect Star Palace, the Tiangliang Star Lord of Longevity, was the longest-living mortal in the world.

He was also the senior disciple of her mother, aunt, and uncle.

As century after century passed, countless acquaintances returned to dust, and originally only she and Bai Qing remained in the world. Now even Bai Qing was gone. Although she was not close to this serious and rigid elder, from now on, she was truly alone in this world.

She decided to give herself a long vacation and came out to clear her mind. Unexpectedly, this mysterious person she encountered had obtained the Powang sword from Bai Qing.

Bai Qing was the most accurate diviner in the world. Had he foreseen something that made him give the Powang sword to Duan Xu? Could it be... that he knew Duan Xu was someone who could form a pact with her, and left this clue to lead her to Duan Xu?

He Simu shuddered. She had never liked Bai Qing, precisely because his divinations were unsettlingly accurate.

After escorting He Simu to the Lin family residence, Duan Xu said he still needed to investigate the granary fire and took his leave.

"General Duan." He Simu called out to Duan Xu as he was about to turn away. She stared into his eyes and smiled slightly. "My behavior is strange. Aren't you afraid that I might be Duke Pei or someone from Danzhi?"

Duan Xu's deep, bright eyes blinked. He said seriously, "Would you be someone who takes orders from others? Looking at your skull, I can tell you were born to be defiant, a young lady who wants to make her own decisions."

His eyes curved slightly, his smile too dazzling.

He Simu narrowed her eyes slightly.

Just now, Duan Xu had told the people that the fire had been extinguished in time and most of the provisions had been saved. But in her view, Duan Xu was merely trying to calm the public.

With the intensity of that fire, saving even one-fifth of the provisions would be fortunate. In such a siege situation, Duan Xu could remain leisurely behind closed doors only because the city walls were high and thick, and provisions were plentiful. Now with the granary fire causing heavy losses, the already precarious situation in the prefecture city was further aggravated. Who knew how long they could hold out?

This young general still smiled as if he were naive about the world. He Simu thought that having been away from the human realm for many years, living people had become increasingly peculiar to her. The mind inside that perfect skull was truly unfathomable to her.

She didn't ask further and bid farewell to Duan Xu, watching him leave. As Duan Xu's figure disappeared into the bustling crowd shopping for New Year's goods, she called out, "Du Zheng."

This was the name of the wandering soul Yan Ke had found for her.

A young man's ghost floated behind He Simu. This ghost had died not long ago, and by all rights should still be an unconscious wandering soul, unable to transform into a vengeful ghost. Yet He Simu had specially granted him awareness, awakening his consciousness.

"Du Zheng, a person from Daizhou, you once served the old lady of the Duan family in Daizhou, and later became Duan Xu's attendant. In the fifth year of Tianyuan, in August, while following Duan Xu on the road to the Southern Capital, you were killed by bandits in Ancient Tai of Shunzhou."

Du Zheng knelt on the ground, bowing repeatedly. "Yes, Your Majesty, that's correct."

"You saw just now. Tell me, is the person who was talking to me the Duan family's third young master, Duan Xu, whom you served?"

Du Zheng straightened up. He looked toward the direction where Duan Xu had disappeared, confusion all over his young face.

"That young master just now? Although many years have passed, this humble servant can tell that he is not the Third Young Master."

"Is he then the bandit who robbed you?"

"Nor is he that... This humble servant has never seen him before."

As expected, this explained all the oddities about this Duan Xu—he was an impostor, not only not the royal relative and third-generation scholar of the Duan family, but possibly even a Huqi person. Seeing how enthusiastically he fought for Great Liang and how happily he blew up the Huqi people, one wondered what deep hatred he harbored for his homeland.

He Simu idly turned the jade pendant at her waist and asked, "Where is the real Duan Xu?"

"This humble servant doesn't know. When this humble servant died, the bandits were chasing and trying to kill the young master, but I don't know the outcome."

He Simu nodded. "You may go."

Du Zheng bowed deeply and disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

---

When Duan Xu returned, he immediately questioned everyone on duty at the granary that day. The granary was a strategic location, and aside from the Lin family servants originally patrolling and protecting it, the Tabai Army had also assigned troops specifically to guard it. Yet now it had been set ablaze by a deranged courtesan, which was highly unreasonable.

The duty supervisor, young Xie, prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly. He said he had taken pity on He Yan and sheltered her, not knowing she would drug him and steal the granary key and structural plans. She had infiltrated the granary while he was in a deep sleep, and he didn't know how she had avoided the patrol guards.

Duan Xu interlaced his fingers at his chin, calmly watching young Xie below. He Yan had originally been a daughter of a wealthy family; her father had once been a minor official overseeing construction works, so she was very familiar with building structures and knew how to set fires that would be difficult to extinguish. Furthermore, she knew the patrol schedules of both the Lin family and the army.

One undeniable point was that there was a traitor among them, secretly guiding He Yan to accomplish all this, intending to force them to surrender due to a lack of provisions.

"Miss He suddenly ran out and killed He Yan. I find this suspicious—could she be trying to silence her?" Wu Sheng Liu said.

Duan Xu shook his head. "It's not her. She doesn't know the granary's defenses."

"But why did she kill..."

"I was also present at the time, and I could have stopped her. However, I figured that the traitor who allowed He Yan to be exposed wouldn't have let her know too much, so we couldn't get valuable information from her. If He Yan died, it might make the traitor lower their guard somewhat."

Duan Xu ordered Han Ling Qiu, who was in charge of the granary's defense, to thoroughly investigate the defense leak. Lin Jun also stated that he would check among the Lin family servants managing the granary to see if anyone besides young Xie was involved.

Compared to finding the traitor, there were now more urgent matters.

Duan Xu stood up from his seat and looked at everyone present—these were the officers who had fought their way from Liangzhou with him: Commander Wu, Officer Han, Meng Wan, and Lin Jun, who had been of great assistance in Shuozhou.

He was silent for a moment, then smiled as usual. "I have contained the news, but I don't want to hide it from everyone present. The remaining provisions in the city will only sustain our troops and civilians for another thirty days."

Because Duan Xu smiled so casually, the scene took on an indescribable strangeness. Though the news was extremely critical, it seemed as if he had just casually remarked on the fine weather.

Wu Sheng Liu's eyes widened. He wanted to react but remembered that Duan Xu was just this kind of character—one who didn't know life from death and loved to smile. So he could only say with frustration, "At worst, we'll go out of the city and fight them to the death. Killing a few more Huqi people would make it worthwhile!"

Duan Xu waved his hand and smiled. "It's not yet time for such desperate measures."

Wu Sheng Liu thought it was indeed so—this pretty boy Duan Xu had always been quite cunning, with one trick after another. From Liangzhou to here, Wu had prepared for a desperate fight several times, yet remarkably, they had never had to resort to it.

Duan Xu turned back to the map of Shuozhou hanging in the camp and pointed to the mountains east of the prefecture city. "Before the enemy arrived, I sent people to scout the terrain and discovered a hidden path on the sunny side of Peng Mountain. It's high enough for horses and wide enough for five people to walk abreast, leading directly to the rear of the enemy camp. As the saying goes, 'To not reciprocate is against propriety.' They burned our provisions, so we'll raid theirs as a token of gratitude."

Wu Sheng Liu's eyes lit up, but then he hesitated. "Will... this work?"

"Whether it works or not, we must try. It's better than waiting for death, right?" Duan Xu smiled warmly.

Hearing this, Lin Jun bowed. "When the Huqi people transport provisions, they must pass through several cities to the north. Our Lin family also has clan relatives in the north. I'll try to contact them using carrier pigeons to see if they can help monitor the movement of provision carts."

Duan Xu nodded. "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Lin."

After the assembly discussed and arranged various tasks, each taking their assignment, just as the meeting concluded and everyone was dispersing, Han Ling Qiu stopped Duan Xu.

"General."

Duan Xu turned to look at Han Ling Qiu, whose eyes flickered as he bowed to Duan Xu. "General, may I have a word in private?"

Duan Xu looked him up and down for a moment, then smiled. "Certainly."

They walked to a secluded spot at the edge of the military camp. Han Ling Qiu seemed to hesitate, but then bit his lip. "General asked me to thoroughly investigate the granary fire. I have some unclear questions that I'd like the General to clarify."

"Go ahead."

"General... how did you predict that the Huqi people would launch a sneak attack when we blew up the border river?"

Duan Xu smiled brightly and patted Han Ling Qiu's shoulder. "I thought it was something else. This is simple to explain."

"The commander of the reinforcing Hulan army, Awuerqi, and the commander of the Yuzhou battlefield, Feng Lai, have always been at odds. After becoming involved in the succession dispute of the Danzhi royal court, each supporting a different prince, they became mortal enemies. Now with the Yuzhou battlefield at a stalemate, Feng Lai was already losing face. If Awuerqi rushed to provide support, wouldn't all the credit fall to someone else?"

"When I led the troops into Shuozhou and occupied the prefecture city, even using parables from the Cang Yan Scripture to deceive the Danzhi garrison, it greatly angered the Danzhi royal court. If Feng Lai could recapture Shuozhou Prefecture and take my head, he would not only diminish Awuerqi's prestige but also add a feather to his cap. So I calculated that he would try to ambush us before the Hulan army arrived, and had Meng Wan closely monitor their movements, detonating the prepared explosives when they crossed the border river."

Duan Xu's explanation was detailed and clear. Although he would not inform his subordinates of his plans in advance, he would answer any questions they had.

Han Ling Qiu listened quietly, then raised his gaze to look at Duan Xu, pressing firmly on the sword at his waist.

"I have been at the border for many years, yet I have never heard of these things General speaks of. General, as this is your first time in the military, how do you know so much about Danzhi affairs?"

Duan Xu looked at Han Ling Qiu's puzzled yet resolute gaze. He laughed heartily, his tone casual and slow.

"Officer Han, are you suspecting me?"

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