The Border Soldier Without a Record

Before the three carts of grain Xu Yansheng was escorting had even left the fortress, the report declaring him fallen in battle had already been stamped.

A military registrar who returned from an ambush was suspected of abandoning the grain and fleeing. His name was struck from the rolls, and his pay was cut off. Yet another camp was still drawing grain under his military registration number. To stay alive, he begins investigating a death notice issued far too soon, and discovers that some of the “dead” in the northern frontier never left the battlefield.

Qi Zhaoxue, daughter of a fallen military family, is determined to reclaim her right to command troops. Ruan Qingfeng, leader of a border-market caravan, must protect her people's trade routes. Shen Lingyi, an imperial investigator, wants military orders to be bound by the law as well. Each has their own aims. They stand alongside Xu Yansheng and contend with him, growing closer with every life-and-death choice they face.

From a border fortress running short on grain to a divided realm, Xu Yansheng must uncover who can write the living down as dead. More than that, he must ensure that those whose names were erased can once again receive their grain, pay, compensation, and a road home.