Narrow roads and cramped paths, and beneath the setting sun, the routed troops fleeing for their lives stretched on and on. Inside the Hu Family Estate, the Liangshan soldiers who had charged in fought a bloody skirmish, then withdrew once they received the comparatively firm order from Song Jiang and Wu Yong’s side — but given the state the Hu Family Estate was already in, even that brief clash had caused enormous casualties.
The few hundred men Hu Cheng led were routed right at the gate, but he pressed on with the remaining household men, trying to keep the situation from worsening further; in the fighting he was surrounded and gravely wounded. Old Master Hu organized the household within the walls and barely managed to hold the main residence for a while, but many of the women and children inside were still killed, and he himself took an arrow in the leg, though it wasn’t life-threatening. The Liangshan men had meant all along to stir up chaos at the Hu Family Estate, to put indirect pressure on the Zhu Family Estate, so the moment they broke in they began setting fires everywhere. By the time Hu Sanniang made it back, nearly half the estate had already been swallowed by flame.
She looked over the wounds on her brother and father, arranged for people to fight the fires and clear out the remaining bandits who hadn’t managed to flee the estate, then led a party back out again, to avenge the dead of her household.
By then, Huyan Zhuo, Zhu Wu, and the others had already turned back onto the main road, leading more than two thousand soldiers to rendezvous partway with Song Jiang’s group.
Huyan Zhuo had not originally intended to retreat. But Wu Yong’s side had spoken in the sternest terms, swearing that the imperial army’s main force was on its way. And in the course of all this, he had also heard a certain rumor — that before Qin Ming died, he had said that Huyan Zhuo and Guan Sheng were the traitors within. If he acted on his own judgment now, he would find it very hard to hold his ground when the reckoning came on Liangshan afterward. Though that rumor forced him to fall back the instant the order came, once he met up with Song Jiang and the others at a fork in the road leading out of the estate, Huyan Zhuo still voiced what was on his mind.
“We can still fight! Just let us charge back and we might yet break the estate! The Wurui Battalion alone has already been battered into cowering — what is there to fear!”
He wanted to lead the men who still had some fighting spirit left back into the fray, but Wu Yong and the others would not allow it.
“The Wurui Battalion is nearby and hasn’t even shown itself yet. If Brother Huyan’s men charge over there and get bogged down, and the Wurui Battalion then strikes with thunderous force, we’ll be caught in a death trap — with over ten thousand of us surrendering, dying, or turning traitor, what chance would we have left! And there are still traitors among us we haven’t rooted out, with plenty more countermoves still in play on their side. How can Brother Huyan be so sure this would only mean one more clash?”
Zhu Wu cupped his hands from where he stood. “We still have upward of ten thousand men. If we strike first and break them, morale will rise again on its own! In the art of war, how can we let mere suspicion of their countermoves rule everything?”
Song Jiang spoke as well: “They reduced us to this state in three days’ time, and the Wurui Battalion still hasn’t even shown itself — Brother Zhu, you can’t help but be cautious.”
“The proper way of war holds that soldiers meet soldiers and earthworks meet floods — if we dare to go, our brothers will dare to follow, and if we break them before the Wurui Battalion arrives, our morale is bound to be restored…”
“Does Brother Zhu know who is running things on their side?”
“We don’t need to know who he is…”
“It’s the Bloody-Handed Butcher, Ning Liheng. He came straight from Jiangning to the capital, and from there he hasn’t stopped for a moment — he’s been killing his way here ever since.”
“…”
Zhu Wu reined in his horse and looked toward where the beacon smoke was rising. He hadn’t quite processed it yet, but something inside him had already gone cold.
In truth, Wu Yong’s caution was reasonable — the enemy’s countermoves went beyond just the Wurui Battalion. That there were traitors among their own ranks now seemed all but certain; if Huyan Zhuo charged out with his men and some great enemy commander suddenly appeared and cut him down on the spot, far from lifting morale, it would only shrink their own chances of escape even further.
That name left everyone hesitating for a moment. “Nine-Dragoned” Shi Jin spoke up: “I’ll take some men and try to hold him off.” He had originally taken to the greenwood at Mount Shaohua together with Zhu Wu, Chen Da, and the others before coming up to Liangshan, and his ties with them ran deepest. During the canal battle, he had originally been with Zhu Wu’s group, but had left early over some matter, and as a result Chen Da had died and Zhu Wu had been wounded. On Mount Shaohua, Shi Jin had been the eldest brother among them, always a man of loyalty and honor, and this had weighed on him ever since. So now he took a small band of men and tried to go hold off the Zhu Family Estate’s men who were pursuing them.
The others soon reached a consensus as well: if the Wurui Battalion really did appear, only Huyan Zhuo’s men could serve as the backbone of any stand, so for now, retreat was the only option. Huyan Zhuo ordered his officers to keep their men in order as best they could and not let them get scattered — but once the retreat began, with the men in front running and those behind still pressing forward, on roads this narrow it wasn’t long before everyone was swept up together in the crowd, dissolving into disorder…
Behind them, the men of the Zhu Family Estate pursued and killed all along the road; though their numbers were only in the thousands, on these roads their assault had already reached a point of saturation. Every so often some Liangshan chieftain would try to make a stand, only to be broken almost immediately. Advancing behind shields, with dozens of crossbows in their formation, they mowed men down like grass along the road; the rare straggler who tried to strike from ambush could never escape the eyes and spearwork of the three Qi brothers.
Their pace of pursuit wasn’t especially fast, but it held steady. Along the other roads, Luan Tingyu, Zhu Biao, and the rest cut a path like tigers on the hunt — wherever they passed, the road and the grass on either side of it were strewn with corpses. After days of living under threat of death, the men of the Zhu Family Estate had never killed with such relish as they did today.
And to the east of Dulong Ridge, at the Li Family Estate, Li Ying — “Heaven-Soaring Eagle” — had also led his household men and retainers out to charge, driving off the fleeing Liangshan troops. He had watched and waited a long while, but the changes of the past two days must have left his eyes nearly popping out of his head; he no longer dared to keep hiding this time and had to come out and pick a side.
On the western road, Hu Sanniang led her household men in catching up with the rear of the fleeing Liangshan force. She rode with a blade in each hand, cutting her way forward, and had just killed a Liangshan soldier when a figure suddenly barreled into her, knocking her off her horse — an arrow whistled through the spot where she’d just been. Hu Sanniang lifted her head from the ground; on a side path not far off, it was “Little Li Guang” Hua Rong of Liangshan who had loosed that shot at her — missing, he turned and fled.
The one who had knocked her from her horse was Wang Shanyue, charging in from another fork in the road, leading a dozen or so crossbowmen sweeping the field clear. Hu Sanniang glanced at him and saw he was soaked in blood from head to toe, even his face and mouth smeared with it — she had no idea how he’d fought his way into such a state. Otherwise his features were gentle; even with a cold expression he’d look handsome enough, but caked in that much gore he looked nothing but eerie and ferocious.
Hu Sanniang, her mind still on avenging her dead, said a word of thanks and, eyes red, charged off again in pursuit.
The sun sank in the west. The routed Liangshan troops broke out of Dulong Ridge and, once they hit the main road, began fleeing across the hills in one general direction. By this time, Su Wenyu had already found the commander of the nearby Wurui Battalion — the deputy commander of the battalion, a man named He Rui. This time Ning Yi had come bearing Qin Siyuan’s orders, and had also had Su Wenyu grease the right palms, so that before the true encirclement of Liangshan began, the Wurui Battalion would also get a chance at drills and a taste of the spoils. Once He Rui had confirmed word of the Demon King Zheng, he brought out nearly six thousand men.
These past days, Zheng Biao, riding on Liangshan’s momentum, had been sweeping through the small mountain strongholds in the area one after another; over twenty-odd days, the harvest had been considerable, and He Rui’s six thousand-odd men rounded them all up in one net, their wealth changing hands entirely. Having tasted that success, He Rui had come to watch things from near Dulong Ridge, and today, in passing, had captured several hundred more prisoners. In fact, at noon that day, they had very nearly crossed paths with Huyan Zhuo’s men on their headlong retreat.
He Rui was no fool — he knew that letting word of his position get out would do the fighting inside some good. But now that Ning Yi had sent word for him to block the routed Liangshan troops, he genuinely found himself in a bind. Yet Liangshan had truly collapsed and lost all formation, the men of Dulong Ridge were still cutting them down from behind, and the other side was invoking Qin Siyuan’s name in the sternest terms. Though he felt some unease in his heart, He Rui finally had his six thousand men form up to meet the fleeing Liangshan force in battle.
The setting sun stained the sky blood-red; on the hillsides and along the roads, more than twenty thousand men crashed together, while behind the routed troops, the men of Dulong Ridge kept cutting them down without pause.
The Wurui Battalion held the fleeing Liangshan troops for barely a quarter of an hour. When several Liangshan chieftains led over a thousand men charging through, the one at the front roaring, “Who dares stand against Huyan Zhuo!” — the Wurui Battalion’s defense was soon split down the middle. The two halves of the battalion still managed to hold themselves together well enough, blocking, capturing, and killing a number of stragglers, while the main body of Liangshan forces broke through the center and fled toward Liangshan.
The rout seemed to set the whole sky ablaze, fire-like light washing over the earth. After the bulk of the routed force had fled, both the Wurui Battalion and the men of Dulong Ridge began sweeping up the scattered remnants left behind. Ning Yi met with He Rui in a tent partway up the hillside, thanked him, and set his mind at ease regarding the day’s fighting.
“Liangshan is no longer worth worrying about. I know that words alone won’t convince anyone, but after today’s real fight, you and your men will know it in your hearts for yourselves.” Ning Yi’s smile was mild and amiable. Then he lowered his voice. “The battle at Dulong Ridge was a crushing defeat for Liangshan — however much fight a few estates can put up, they’ll be satisfied just to protect themselves. That we won today, with the Wurui Battalion here too, owes much to Commander He’s actions. Six thousand men defeating twenty thousand of Liangshan’s — I’ll be sure to put in a word for Commander He’s merit in my letter to Chancellor Qin. As for the rest of the army, that will need Commander He’s own careful handling and embellishing…” Liangshan, he said, was no longer anything to fear.
It’s easier to carry a man in a fine palanquin than to build one — though the Wurui Battalion had taken a rough beating in the clash, its losses hadn’t actually been severe, and since the other side was here to take the credit, all the military merit for this battle would now go to him. And since they’d need people to talk up how much Liangshan’s strength had declined within the army ranks, ahead of the coming full assault, He Rui had, in effect, gained a great and unearned merit and fortune out of nothing — even after sharing some of it with his superiors and the rest, he’d still come out well ahead. As for how to grease the necessary palms, he understood perfectly well on his own, and was overflowing with gratitude toward Ning Yi; whatever small tasks Ning Yi asked of him afterward, he readily agreed to without a second thought.
Once he’d walked well clear of the camp, Ning Yi finally, under the fading glow of the sunset, clenched his fists and shook them hard several times, gritting his teeth and cursing furiously in his heart: Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, this pack of useless trash…
Wang Shanyue came up to meet him from the side; he already knew Ning Yi had told He Rui to hand all the prisoners over to their side to deal with. “Ready to go take charge of them? I hear Zheng Biao’s been caught alive. Since you two know each other, he might be quite pleasantly surprised to see you.”
Points of torchlight kindled and slowly brightened. Seen from a distance, Dulong Ridge — after days of relentless slaughter — lay sunk in a haze of grey-blue twilight, scattered points of light marking where men were hunting down prisoners. There was still a great deal left to be done, but the restlessness that had hung in the air for days now was gradually beginning to settle. On the way down the mountain, Ning Yi caught hold of Zhu Long, who had come out with his men to observe how things stood: “Bring your men and come with me first — we’re going to deal with the matter of Li Ying!”
A group of more than forty men made their way to the front of the Li Family Estate. Li Ying had already returned to the estate and put his household on alert. By now he was already regretting how he had chosen to sit on the fence and watch the way the wind blew — once this was over, the Zhu and Hu estates would surely come demanding an accounting from him. Under the current circumstances he wasn’t so afraid of the two estates joining forces against him, but he had heard there was also someone from the imperial court involved; if that person really meant to deal with him, it could turn into real trouble.
Knowing that the Wurui Battalion’s commander was also stationed just outside Dulong Ridge, he hastily had his household prepare valuables and lavish gifts, hoping to start greasing the right palms — if he could just get past this hurdle, then afterward, at Dulong Ridge, the Li Family Estate would stand alone at the top. Just as he was busy with these arrangements, the enemy had already come charging up, and a list was passed in from outside the estate walls. It was that man from the imperial court who had come. The list demanded nearly half his estate’s wealth as compensation, after which he could begin to intercede on Li Ying’s behalf — the terms were blunt and left no room for haggling.
That the other side was even willing to negotiate came as some relief; the sum was outrageous, but not entirely beyond discussion. Since this man was from the imperial court, it made sense he’d set his price high, and he likely wouldn’t bother showing the Zhu and Hu estates any particular consideration — in fact, judging from how things had gone these past several days, it seemed the court’s real hope might well be for Dulong Ridge and Liangshan to destroy each other, which was easy enough to imagine.
He hurriedly gathered several hundred household men and went out to receive the visitor at the gate. The estate gates opened, and the noble young gentleman led in his retinue — most of them still covered in blood — walking straight toward the estate. Li Ying hastened forward, hands cupped in greeting. The two sides had barely passed through the gate, in that instant between light and shadow, when the noble young gentleman drew the firearm at his side and fired it straight at Li Ying’s head with a bang. Li Ying flinched and dodged just in time, while more than forty crossbows opened fire in a chaotic volley at him and the men around him, including “Ghost-Faced” Du Xing. Before anyone could properly react, the noble young gentleman roared: “Li Ying has been colluding with the Liangshan bandits! Plotting rebellion! The Wurui Battalion’s main force is right outside the estate — who wants to share in his crime!”
At that very moment, as the gate was being held, Zhu Long came charging up swiftly from the distance with more than two hundred men.
With the banner of the imperial court raised, and Liangshan already in ruins, the estate fell into instant chaos. Yet hardly anyone dared to resist at a time like this.
“Everyone’s short on people right now — how you sort out the household is your business, just handle it properly. As for Li Ying’s family, however you need to deal with the die-hards among them — you’ve all lived here as neighbors for years, you know how it’s done. As for the Li family’s property, you get a share, the Hu family gets a share, I get a share, and the Wurui Battalion outside gets a share — much obliged. I’ll be coming through to do business here in the future; from here on, we might well be neighbors, so I’ll have to trouble Brother Zhu to look after this stretch of Dulong Ridge.”
Ning Yi smiled faintly. In the flickering torchlight, Zhu Long nodded almost without thinking. In truth, the Zhu family and the others had also considered coming to settle a score with the Li family before long — they just hadn’t expected that, with the fighting barely over and everyone still steeped in the joy of victory, their wounded not yet even tended to, this man would strike with such decisiveness so soon.
As for which among the Li family were the die-hards, the Zhu family naturally knew that too; once they had the pretext of the imperial court’s authority to clean house, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.
With the matter settled, Ning Yi and his party made straight for outside the estate without delay.
“Time to go take charge of those prisoners. Everyone, buck up in a moment — this matter’s settled, but we’re not done yet… You can eat something in a bit, rest a little, and then it’s back to work… It’ll be a busy night tonight, too.”
Wang Shanyue asked, “What do you plan to do with those prisoners?”
“What else — most of their families are still up on Liangshan. Beat some, kill a batch, of course…” Ning Yi began to laugh. “And then let the rest of them all go, ha ha ha ha…”
In the dimness, Ning Yi’s laughter rang out, yet his footsteps never slowed in the slightest — still hurried, still resolute. In that laughter there was not much joy or ease to be found. While everyone else was, more or less, letting out a breath and savoring this brief lull, this man was still pressing steadily onward, pushing the great wheel before him without pause, rolling forward to crush his enemy one step at a time…
The blood debt of the Su family’s ruin had, by now, perhaps been repaid with five or six thousand lives — but this was merely the beginning. Before long, the men of Liangshan would surely come to understand that with perfect clarity.