Are you playing a game of time freeze

Pei Wugou was practically dancing with excitement over his own stroke of genius, but Deputy General Chen Song was utterly bewildered.

What the hell?

Find someone to stand in for him?

No…

Pei Wugou was the commander of an entire army!

Find someone to impersonate the commander?

Was Pei Wugou short a screw, or had anyone willing to impersonate him grown an extra head?

Besides…

What time was this?

How could he still be playing around with doubles at a time like this?

Chen Song hurriedly tried to dissuade him. “My lord, you mustn’t.”

“We’re in the middle of wartime. Ren Tianye’s army is already entrenched in Pukou City, watching us like a tiger stalking its prey. They could attack at any moment.”

“At a time like this, you’re precisely the one who needs to step forward and stabilize the troops. Finding someone to act as your double… It’s really not appropriate!”

Pei Wugou frowned unhappily. “What’s inappropriate about it? Just say that I found myself a double.”

“If this ever comes to light, we’ll say that I found someone to impersonate me so that I could free myself up to carry out more covert military operations.”

It wasn’t as though there were no precedents for such a thing.

Even so, Deputy General Chen Song still felt it was inappropriate… After all, Marquis, you’re not really doing this for military reasons. You’re doing it for a woman—and using some utterly inexplicable excuse about why you can’t meet her.

He continued, “My lord, I still don’t think this is suitable. Someone with your appearance—a graceful and handsome young gentleman in this troubled world—is far too difficult to find.”

“It’s simply impossible.”

“And even if we do find someone, he’ll only resemble you barely. He’ll be far too easy to expose.”

“So I suggest that you reconsider carefully.”

To make Pei Wugou abandon the idea, Deputy General Chen Song had thrown away all dignity and begun offering shameless flattery.

The tactic worked remarkably well.

Pei Wugou burst into hearty laughter, his mood instantly brightening.

But…

His determination remained utterly unmoved!

He said, “Of course I know it’s impossible to find someone who looks exactly like me. But our army numbers tens of thousands, and there are tens of thousands more servants and laborers. Add in the soldiers stationed throughout the Jiangbei fortress line, and the total becomes impossible to count.”

“Among all those people, we ought to be able to find someone suitable.”

“Of course, my requirements aren’t high.”

“He only needs to possess thirty percent of my handsomeness. Anything more than that… probably doesn’t exist.”

After saying this, Pei Wugou issued a direct order. “Enough. There’s no time to lose. Go and search the entire army immediately.”

“You must find someone who has at least thirty percent of my handsomeness!”

Deputy General Chen Xiong felt as though his head had grown twice as large.

He hadn’t been able to talk the marquis out of it, and now the man wanted him to find someone immediately?

“My lord…” Deputy General Chen Song’s voice carried a hint of despair. “This really isn’t the time!”

“Our army has already been marching for quite some distance. We’ll soon reach Tiemen Pass, the first line of defense in the Jiangbei fortress complex.”

“Before long, it will also become our first line of defense against Ren Tianye.”

“Shouldn’t we discuss what to do?”

“When we arrive, how are we going to reassure the garrison commanders? How will we stabilize their morale? How should we place our own people among them so that Tiemen Pass can hold back Ren Tianye’s army and give us time to make arrangements after we reach Zhenjiang City, the heart of the Jiangbei fortress complex?”

Pei Wugou pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Hmm. You’re right.”

Deputy General Chen Song was delighted. “So, my lord, we’re not finding you a double anymore?”

“No, we still have to find one. That can’t be delayed…” Pei Wugou said. “But the army can rest for one day. We’ll continue marching after we find my double.”

Chen Song: “…”

Before he could try to dissuade him again, Pei Wugou waved a hand. “The matter is settled. There’s no need for further discussion.”

“If you have that much energy to spare, you’d better hurry and find me a double. I’m giving you one day. If you can’t find someone, you’ll be punished under military law!”

“Hmph!” Pei Wugou’s expression suddenly turned severe. “You should know that I have always run my army with an iron fist!”

As he spoke, an aura of steely authority filled his voice, and all the words Chen Song had been about to say died in his throat.

He let out a sigh.

All he could do was go find this so-called double.

Actually, it wasn’t that difficult. After all, this wasn’t one of those doubles popular in the capital who had to be an exact copy. They only needed someone with a similar build.

Chen Song took charge of the selection himself. After just three hours, he brought the candidate over.

Pei Wugou looked him up and down as he stood there, then couldn’t help nodding. “Not bad, not bad. You actually have forty percent of my handsomeness!”

“Impressive!”

“Truly impressive!”

“Who would have thought there was someone like you in this world?”

“Rare indeed!”

Pei Wugou gave him an extremely high evaluation.

But the double was clearly just a common soldier, and he was terrified. He hurriedly stammered out his thanks. “M-My, my, my, my lord, th-thank, thank, thank you, my lord.”

Pei Wugou frowned. “Does he stutter?”

“No, that’s strange!” Deputy General Chen Song said. “He wasn’t stuttering just now. Is he simply too nervous?”

“Y-Yes, I’m, I’m too, too ner-nervous…”

“It’s nothing.” Pei Wugou waved his hand grandly, indicating that it wasn’t a serious problem. “You won’t need to say much anyway. Just stand there.”

With that, Pei Wugou also gave Deputy General Chen Song a very high evaluation. “Not bad, Chen Song. To find someone who resembles me to forty percent in such a short time… You really put some thought into this.”

“You flatter me, my lord.” Deputy General Chen Song said, “Now that we’ve found your double, perhaps we should make arrangements for our affairs at Tiemen Pass.”

“Mm, we do need to make some arrangements.” Pei Wugou agreed, but his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the double.

He looked and looked…

And then he grew sad.

“Alas, Little He and I truly love each other. We’re clearly beneath the same sky, in the same military camp, yet it feels as though the ends of the earth lie between us.”

“Why won’t Heaven allow two people in love to be together?”

Deputy General Chen Song: “???”

Whoosh!

Pei Wugou rose to his feet and strode outside.

“My lord, where, where are you going?” Deputy General Chen Song called after him.

Pei Wugou’s voice rang out, firm and decisive. “To see my Little He.”

“I’ve only just realized it. Now that we have a double, I’m free. I can go see Little He disguised as one of your personal guards.”

“Then I’ll use a hat to cover my hair. Perfect!”

“Little He and I are beneath the same sky. There’s no reason we can’t be together!”

By the time Pei Wugou finished speaking, Deputy General Chen Song could no longer hear him clearly. Pei Wugou’s footsteps were swift—he was already far away, and his voice had faded with the distance.

Chen Song stood rooted to the spot, completely dumbfounded.

“Wait, my lord! Weren’t we supposed to discuss what to do at Tiemen Pass?”

“Time waits for no one!”

“The military situation is as urgent as a raging fire!”

Deputy General Chen Song stamped his foot and chased after him.

His steps were not as fast as Pei Wugou’s. Or perhaps Pei Wugou was simply moving at an absurd speed, taking two steps at a time and practically flying toward the military camp.

Then his body came to an abrupt halt.

He saw the figure who, despite having been separated from him for only a few days, had haunted his soul and filled his thoughts day and night.

The din of the military camp seemed to vanish in an instant. The surrounding figures blurred into indistinct shadows. Before his eyes stood only a woman dressed as a man, her fingers clutching a sprig of flowers.

Pei Wugou’s body trembled once more.

He softly called out her name.

“Little He!”

Wen He suddenly looked up. The moment he saw Pei Wugou, his face was full of disbelief, but he didn't immediately move forward. He stood at a distance, looking at Pei Wugou from afar.

It seemed that there was only a soft beam of light in the entire military camp, shining solely on the two of them. Everything around became the background, allowing the two of them to stand and stare at each other across just a few steps!

Staring!

Staring!

For a full quarter of an hour!

Lieutenant Chen Song, who had come and waited for a long time, couldn't stand it anymore...

"Hey, are you two playing a game of time standstill here?"

As soon as Lieutenant Chen Song said this, the other soldiers around had the same thought. They all looked confused, not knowing what these two people in front of them were doing.

It seemed that they knew each other.

It also seemed that their relationship was quite intimate.

But... if they knew each other and were close, they should get together when they met. They could chat, joke, or just talk. What were they doing just standing there motionless?

For such a long time!

Why were they still standing there?

There were strange things every year, but there weren't many strange things in the military camp. And today, everyone witnessed something truly strange!

So, they all accompanied this strangeness!

They had been watching for half an hour, their eyes getting dry. Finally, Pei Wugou and Wen He walked towards each other.

The two of them tightly held each other's hands.

"Ah Wu!"

"Little He!"

"Why have you lost so much weight?"

"Why do you look so haggard?"

Immediately afterwards, the two hugged each other.

The surrounding soldiers were confused again.

What the...

Wasn't there a military order just now? And several brothers were punished because of it. How come... they were hugging each other?

By the way, was it appropriate for two men to hug each other?

At this time, Lieutenant Chen Song didn't want to step forward either.

Forget it, let it be!

And at this moment, Pei Wugou and Wen He were tenderly entangled with each other.

In Wen He's eyes, one could see the thin sweat oozing from under Pei Wugou's delicate face, and the tenderness in his eyes after all the sharpness had faded away.

In Pei Wugou's eyes, one could see Wen He's gentleness and beauty, as well as the sourness and joy welling up on his eyebrows.

Around the two of them, it seemed that at this moment, dust was rising everywhere. Only the two of them were silently staring at each other in the hustle and bustle, their breaths intertwined!

Until...

Pei Wugou's voice sounded.

"Little He, why did you come here?"

These words made Wen He's tears burst forth. He sobbed, "You were taken away by the conscription officers. I was worried. I thought that even if it meant death, I would be with you. So I traveled all the way here from a long distance.

"Just in time, I met them conscripting soldiers. So I dressed up as a man and joined the military camp. I didn't expect..."

"Ah Wu, I finally saw you again!"

"But, Ah Wu, why are you dressed like this?"

These words made Pei Wugou startle.

Only then did he realize that he had been in such a hurry just now that he forgot to change his clothes. He was still wearing the brand - new armor.

- This obviously wasn't something a newly - conscripted soldier should have.

He quickly made up an excuse, "Well, after I came here, General Chen Song thought I was a promising talent, so he kept me as a personal guard under his command and gave me this good set of armor."

Wen He immediately said in surprise, "My Ah Wu is really different. You can get the appreciation of a noble person as soon as you come."

"Of course, who am I!" Pei Wugou boasted a bit. Only then did he notice that he and Wen He were being watched by everyone, so he felt a bit annoyed.

But now his identity was a personal guard under Lieutenant Chen Song's command, not Marquis Jingyi Pei Wugou. So he said to Wen He, "Little He, let's go somewhere else to have a chat."

"Okay!"

"There are horses over there. Let's ride out on a horse."

"Ah, Ah Wu, you can ride a horse?"

"Of course. I'm General Chen Song's personal guard!"

Pei Wugou quickly led a horse over, mounted it, and then pulled Wen He onto the horse. He slapped the horse's rump, and the strong horse neighed. It carried the two of them galloping away.

Lieutenant Chen Song behind was stunned again.

"Hey, you left. What about the army?

"Should the army stay in place?

"Or should we march towards the Iron Gate Pass?

"Give an order before you leave..."

Lieutenant Chen Song had a bitter look on his face. After a long time, he had to make a decision on behalf of Pei Wugou first.

The army should march forward first!

They couldn't just stay here all the time, right?!

They were here to resist Ren Tianye, not to go on a tour!

But Pei Wugou had already forgotten all these things. All he did was for the sake of having a beautiful love story with Wen He.

Now that Wen He had found him in the military camp, he was extremely touched and excited. He couldn't hold back his emotions at all, and all other things had been thrown to the back of his mind.

He galloped on the horse, dashing out.

The speed of the two of them on a single horse was much faster than that of the army. On the horseback, the two of them were tightly pressed against each other, forgetting about time and breathing.

When they looked up again, they didn't know how many miles they had traveled.

"Ah Wu, look, there's a lake!"

Wen He's exclamation on the horseback made Pei Wugou quickly look over. He saw a sparkling lake. Although it wasn't particularly large, it was extremely beautiful.

In the setting sun, it was dyed into a piece of jade, inlaid on the ground. It was so beautiful that it made people feel relaxed and happy.

"Oh, this is Liaohua Lake!"

Pei Wugou immediately told its origin, "This is where the military rations for the Iron Gate Pass are stored."

"Military rations?" Wen He was surprised.

"Yes. Liaohua Lake is the closest to the Iron Gate Pass and is connected to a large lake. There are countless fish in it. Whenever there is a war, the defenders of the Iron Gate Pass will gather soldiers to catch fish with nets.

"According to statistics, the amount of fish caught each time is quite large, enough for all the soldiers at the Iron Gate Pass to eat for several months."

"Look, there are soldiers guarding there."

"And over there, it's obviously a newly - built dam, which is used to intercept fish and obtain rich seafood."

Pei Wugou explained in great detail, and Wen He listened intently. He said, "Ah Wu, let's go and have a look. The scenery here is so beautiful!"

"Okay!"

Pei Wugou always unconditionally fulfilled Wen He's requests, especially when it was such a trivial one.

He immediately turned the horse's head and headed towards Liaohua Lake.

When they got closer, two soldiers suddenly rushed out, holding weapons, and became vigilant towards this uninvited guest.

"Stop!"

Their voices were sharp!

The horse, which had been well - controlled by Pei Wugou, suddenly got scared for no reason. It let out a roar and suddenly reared up on its front hooves.

Pei Wugou, an old hand in the military, was not affected at all. Wen He, being a novice, let out a scream and was about to fall off.

Just then, Pei Wugou grabbed him with his strong arm and held him in his arms. The horse spun rapidly, and the world seemed to turn upside down. In Pei Wugou's arms, Wen He looked at Pei Wugou's handsome and delicate face, and the whole person...

Started to spin!

One circle!

Two circles!

Three circles!

...