Shen Qingwan glanced at the few people staring at them.

She hesitated only for a moment before stepping behind the screen again and pulling out several sets of Xiyue soldiers’ armor.

Then, she quickly opened a few prison doors.

These people had not expected to leave this place alive—they only wished for the young general to escape safely.

But if an opportunity to leave arose, they would naturally seize it.

Gu Shaoqing’s injuries were severe, with blood still seeping from multiple wounds.

Shen Qingwan could only manage a quick, simple treatment, but he still walked with a limp.

The others, however, were in better condition.

Once they donned the armor, they didn’t appear suspicious.

Shen Qingwan had them wait inside while she went ahead to scout the situation.

When the patrol had passed again, she signaled them to come out.

With bold and confident steps, she led the group straight toward the camp’s exit.

At the third quarter of the Chou hour (around 1:45 AM), the soldiers were at their drowsiest.

Even the guards on duty had started to doze off.

As they neared the edge of the camp, Shen Qingwan instructed Chen Bin to take the others forward while she turned back.

Chen Bin was worried about her but dared not voice his concerns.

He could only follow her orders and prioritize escorting the young general to safety.

Shen Qingwan went back for the provisions.

Since she was already here, how could she leave empty-handed?

She headed straight for the grain storage, eliminating more than ten guards along the way before storing all the provisions into her spatial storage.

Though Xiyue’s army didn’t have an abundance of supplies, feeding 200,000 soldiers still required over 100,000 shi of grain.

Combined with the 10,000 shi that Gu Shaoqing had gathered, she took everything.

But taking their supplies wasn’t enough—Shen Qingwan wanted to teach them a lesson. She had over a thousand jars of strong liquor in her space.

Testing whether she could directly manipulate the liquid inside, she successfully poured it out without breaking the jars.

With a grand gesture, she unleashed a “rain” of fiery liquor upon the camp.

At first, some soldiers thought it was just rain, but the overwhelming scent of alcohol quickly confused them.

“Something’s wrong! The hostages have escaped!”

Someone finally noticed the anomaly.

Alarm spread through the camp, and the pungent alcohol scent made them uneasy.

As chaos ensued, Shen Qingwan shot a fireball toward the soaked tents.

With a boom, the alcohol-drenched fabric instantly ignited.

From a vantage point, she continued shooting flaming arrows, ensuring more tents caught fire.

Soon, soldiers engulfed in flames rushed out, blindly colliding with others and spreading the fire further. Without her needing to do more, the camp turned into a sea of fire.

Unfortunately, the camp was too large, and she only managed to burn about one-third of it. The number of casualties would depend on fate.

She released over a dozen more fire arrows before someone spotted her, forcing her to retreat.

When she returned to their meeting point, she expected the others to have already left—but to her surprise, they were still waiting for her.

“Hurry! We need to leave!”

Seeing her return with the blazing inferno in the background, they were all shocked.

So… she went back to set fire to the camp?

Though they didn’t know how she had managed it, the fact that she single-handedly set Xiyue’s camp ablaze was incredible.

Excitement surged through them, but they couldn’t stay to admire the flames—pursuers would be coming soon.

Since they lacked enough horses, they had to share.

Gu Shaoqing reached out a hand to Shen Qingwan.

She wasn’t the type to hesitate and immediately mounted in front of him.

Not long after they left, Xiyue’s cavalry began their pursuit.

Shen Qingwan couldn’t tell how many soldiers were chasing them in the darkness, but she knew that at this pace, it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

Riding ahead, Chen Bin launched a signal flare into the sky. The bright light lingered for about three seconds before slowly descending.

This was the flare Gu Tingyi had given him before leaving. Once fired, Gu Tingyi would lead reinforcements to meet them.

Using the darkness as cover, Shen Qingwan retrieved night-vision binoculars from her space and checked the approaching enemy.

There were about a thousand cavalrymen—a thousand warhorses.

Such a generous gift… she couldn’t bear to let it go to waste.

“Chen Bin, let’s switch. You take the young general.”

Although confused, Chen Bin instinctively obeyed.

Gu Shaoqing was surprised by the switch.

Did she not want to share a horse with him?

He recalled the sensation of her petite frame against him earlier, as well as the faint feminine fragrance.

Though he hadn’t been around many women, he was observant—realizing she was female wasn’t difficult.

Before he could say anything, Shen Qingwan had already switched horses.

They were nearing the Northwestern Army’s territory, and reinforcements should be arriving soon.

After instructing Chen Bin to continue forward, Shen Qingwan slowed her pace.

Gu Shaoqing grew anxious.

“Chen Bin, we can’t leave her behind!”

Chen Bin understood but also knew that Gu Shaoqing was the priority. He also trusted that Shen Qingwan wasn’t reckless.

“Young General, I’ll escort you to safety first, then return for Young Master Shen. The General will be here soon. He’ll be fine.”

Chen Bin didn’t know if he was comforting Gu Shaoqing or himself.

After running for a while, he noticed the pursuers were no longer chasing them.

Realizing something was off, he ensured Gu Shaoqing was safe, then turned back alone to find Shen Qingwan.

He had promised the General to bring Shen Qingwan back safely. As long as he had breath in him, he wouldn’t abandon her.

Shortly after Chen Bin turned back, Gu Tingyi arrived with reinforcements.

Upon learning Shen Qingwan and Chen Bin were still behind, Gu Shaoqing could no longer hold on and fainted from exhaustion and blood loss.

Gu Tingyi ordered his men to take Gu Shaoqing back for treatment, while he personally led troops to retrieve Shen Qingwan.