Two years later.
On a public road in the Northern Frontier, a lone rider was making steady progress at a leisurely pace. Under the moonlight, one could just make out the rider’s high ponytail and a waist so slender it seemed it could be spanned by a single hand. Strapped to her back was a long bundle, though it was impossible to tell whether it contained a musical instrument or a weapon.
Su Mingyu hummed a tune, muttering to herself incessantly. "If I’d known the journey would be this desolate, I should have hired a carriage. I wouldn't have to suffer through all this jolting!"
As she spoke, her white horse suddenly halted, letting out a series of whinnies toward the path ahead. Caught off guard, Su Mingyu failed to keep her grip on the reins and nearly tumbled from the saddle. Once she had steadied herself, she gave the horse a solid smack on the head and huffed, "Are you seeing ghosts? Why the sudden stop? Do you want me to turn you into stew?"
Su Mingyu clutched her chest, her eyes darting toward the road ahead. Only then did she notice that, about a hundred meters away, a group of men had surrounded several others. The tension was palpable; it looked as if a fight could break out at any moment. The three prefectures of the Northern Frontier were locked in constant warfare and were hardly peaceful, and the public roads were notoriously infested with bandits at night. Any ordinary person would have tucked their tail and fled at such a sight.
Yet, for some reason, Su Mingyu’s wires got crossed. After frowning in thought for a long while, she lowered her head and spoke earnestly to her horse:
"It’s so dark, they surely can’t see us. The courier station is just ahead. If we turn back now, we’ll be sleeping out in the cold wind again tonight! When I count to three, you give it everything you've got and charge! As long as we’re fast enough, they won’t even notice we’re here!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a booming voice rang out from the front. "My lady! Didn't we agree that you should stop worrying about us and run with the item?"
Su Mingyu was bewildered. She glanced behind her; there was no one there. Had she truly lost her mind? Who was that bearded man calling "my lady"? It was terrifying enough in the dead of night!
Before she could process the situation, the group that had been surrounding the others suddenly charged in her direction.
"What—what are you doing?"
Feeling the killing intent rushing toward her, Su Mingyu didn't stop to think. She raised her riding crop, spun her horse around, and fled. It wasn't until she had galloped four or five hundred meters away that she suddenly realized: was that bearded man setting her up?
"Hey! Don't chase me! I don't know those people! I don't have any ridiculous item on me!" Su Mingyu shouted back over her shoulder as she ran.
"How does she know we’re looking for that item? She must be an accomplice! After her!" the leader of the pursuing party bellowed.
The riders behind her began whipping their horses with even greater ferocity. Su Mingyu felt a wave of speechless rage. "Are you all sick in the head? How would I know what that item is?"
She tried to reason with them, but the men behind her turned a deaf ear. Su Mingyu cursed the bearded man and his ancestors back eighteen generations. If she continued running, she would be heading straight into the deep forest. To make matters worse, thunder began to roll across the sky. Su Mingyu shivered—she had no desire to be caught in a cold, rainy night, trapped between wild beasts and bandits.
A cloud-piercing arrow whistled past her, grazing her right shoulder. Su Mingyu finally snapped. She yanked on the reins, spun the horse around, and came to a stop in the middle of the road. She straightened her back and drew a long blade from her back, pointing it at the approaching men.
In the moonlight, Su Mingyu looked resplendent in her white clothes, her robes fluttering in the wind, a picture of heroic grace. However, the moment she spoke, that majestic image crumbled instantly.
"Bah! You’ve been chasing me for dozens of miles—you’re more persistent than a leech! I told you, you have the wrong person, but you just won't listen! I hate fighting more than anything, but today, I’m going to make sure I poke all your stubborn asses full of holes, you idiots!"
As soon as her blade emerged, the men opposite her turned pale.
"Long blade, white horse... Are you the swordswoman Baixue?"
Su Mingyu gave a disdainful laugh. "Your eyes aren't blind, then. You’ve provoked me—are you scared now?"
The leader frowned. He took one look at her and waved his hand to his men. "It's a trap. Retreat!"
Su Mingyu looked at the wound on her shoulder, her fury mounting. "Wait a minute! You hurt someone—do you not even have an apology?"
The leader glanced at her with contempt. "The Suzhou Prefecture is conducting official business. If you were killed by mistake, you can only blame your own bad luck."
Su Mingyu didn't care for that sentiment. Her motto had always been: if someone offends me, I will make them pay dearly. With a clean, swift motion, she hacked off a sturdy branch from a nearby tree and flung it with all her might in the direction of the retreating leader. With a sharp *thwack*, the branch pierced the leader's right shoulder.
He pulled his horse to a halt, turned around, and glared at Su Mingyu with eyes full of malice.
Su Mingyu lifted her chin haughtily. "Courtesy demands reciprocity. We’re even now. Get lost."
Feeling deeply insulted, the leader gritted his teeth and hissed, "This woman's identity is suspicious. Kill her!"
A guard beside him frowned. "Captain, the Magistrate gave orders that we must recover the lost token. We cannot afford any more delays!"
The leader ignored him, waving his hand impatiently. "The others have escaped; we won't find the item now. But we still have a chance to redeem ourselves. This woman's accent is from the Capital. Don't forget, the person our Magistrate was entrusted by Xu Ke to intercept is also from the Capital."
"What? But the person we’re supposed to kill is the Commander of the Brocade Guard, and he’s a man!"
"And what if she is? Listen to my orders! She is a confidante of the Commander of the Brocade Guard. Kill her, and follow me back to the manor to collect the reward!"
With that, the group swarmed back toward her. Su Mingyu’s eyes widened in shock, her mind reeling. *Incredible,* she thought. *The ability to create something out of nothing, combined with such miraculous logic—they’re geniuses!*
Though she hated fighting, there was no reason to let people trample all over her. She spun her long blade and charged her horse straight at the enemy. With her first strike, the two leading men were unhorsed and collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Her movements were fluid and precise, landing a hit with almost every strike. In no time at all, a pile of men lay on the ground.
Suddenly, the rain began to pour. The leader struggled to his feet. Peering through the rain and mist, he saw the fierce woman dismount and walk slowly toward him.
"You dare kill government officers? You're finished!"
Su Mingyu walked toward him, speaking with casual indifference. "First, you attacked me first."
"Second, if you really are government officers, then abusing your power to take lives is a capital crime. I am simply ridding the people of a pest; what crime have I committed?"
"Third..." Su Mingyu crouched down, a seductive, dangerous smile on her face. "I am no confidante of the Brocade Guard Commander Su Mingyu. The thing I hate most in this world is being framed."
She pulled a token from her tunic, upon which the words "Commander" were clearly inscribed. "Do you recognize this token?"
The leader rubbed his eyes, trembling in terror. "How... how do you have that?"
Su Mingyu curled her lips, her voice chilling. "Because I am the newly appointed Commander of the Brocade Guard, Su Mingyu."