Early the next morning.

Ning Chen ordered a detachment to escort Xiliang's crown prince back to the Great Xuan's capital.

With him went Xiliang's letter of surrender, the documents setting out the terms, and a few letters Ning Chen had spent the night wringing every drop of milk out of his brains to write.

Tantai Qingyue said softly, "May I go and see him off? Once he goes to the Great Xuan's capital, I am afraid he will never come home again in this life."

Ning Chen nodded once. "Go on!"

"Thank you!"

Tantai Qingyue went to see Xiliang's crown prince off.

The two of them had come to such similar ends. One would spend his life a prisoner in the Great Xuan's imperial city, the other a prisoner for life at Ning Chen's side.

Toward noon, the army broke camp.

The Xiliang soldiers on the walls of Dingtian City nearly wept for joy.

With the Great Xuan's army camped right in front of them, they hadn't been able to eat or sleep.

Seven days later, Ning Chen was back at Shengguang City.

He stayed there a few days, put everything in order, left fifty thousand troops behind and led the rest straight for Beilin Pass.

They had plenty of supplies, so the army marched fast.

Ning Chen's original plan had been to reach Beilin Pass in a month.

But he hadn't counted on all the trouble along the way. In places the forests were a maze, and the roads were rough going. It all ate up time.

The army had just gotten over one ridge, and that alone had taken a whole day.

Ning Chen ordered a halt to rest.

He looked at the map and gave a wry smile. It seemed he'd taken the wrong road.

The maps in this world were far too crude. All they gave you was a rough direction.

The ridge they had just half killed themselves getting over wasn't even on the map.

The good news was that the general direction was right.

His plan had been to reach Beilin Pass in a…