“Mm, it’s time to go.”

Xiao Li furrowed his brows tightly: “What did you say?”

The young officer choked back tears: ‘When the General was supervising the battle from the city tower, someone disguised as mansion soldiers from the General’s residence to seek an audience with the General. They then used Madam and the two young masters as threats to lure the General away. Afterward, a large number of Western Ling troops suddenly appeared within the city, chasing and slaughtering civilians all the way to the city gate. Moreover, someone shouted loudly that it was General Yang who secretly opened the city gate and let the Western Ling troops in…

The young officer reached this point and roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve: “The garrison troops at the city gate thought General Yang had truly defected to Western Ling. They collapsed into complete disarray with no will to defend the city anymore, all abandoning their armor and fleeing. When General Yang returned and realized it was a trap, the situation was already lost. To stabilize the troops’ morale, the General… he beheaded himself and had the vice general use his head to rally the fleeing garrison troops to defend the city gate to the death…”

The young officer let out heavy choking sobs from his throat. That face covered with soot and sweat was also streaked with fresh tear tracks.

The Wolf Riders had already seen the tragic state of Yang Yue, his wife, and children along the way. Now hearing these words, they exchanged glances with one another. Though they remained silent, the violent agitation emanating from their extreme rage still caused the warhorses beneath them to stamp their hooves.

Xiao Li fell silent, like lava still surging through cracks in the earth after a volcanic eruption, while layers of black rock had already covered the surface. He said: “Go to the city tower.”

–

“Where are the rolling stones and wooden beams? Quickly! Continue bringing rolling stones and wooden beams to the city tower!”

“Bring up the fire oil too!”

The vice general shouted himself hoarse. The round stones and wooden beams being rolled down from the tower had all been depleted. Moreover, too many garrison troops at the tower had fled. Now they couldn’t even fill the gaps along the city wall, let alone those supply soldiers responsible for transporting military equipment.

Taking advantage of the earlier chaos within the city, the Western Ling troops who had charged to the base of Tiger Gorge Pass’s city tower in one breath were now climbing up the scaling ladders like locusts, their momentum fierce.

The garrison troops at various battlements had nothing left to throw down. They could only raise their swords to strike down the Western Ling troops as they climbed up. But those scaling ladders were strung with countless Western Ling soldiers like grasshoppers on a stick. Just as the blade fell upon the front Western Ling soldier before it could be pulled out, the Western Ling soldier behind had already swung his sword at the garrison troops at the battlements.

Below the city tower, the archers among the Western Ling troops were also continuously shooting and killing the garrison troops at the battlements.

At the city gate, countless Western Ling troops roared as they pushed their war chariots, using the battering ram fixed to the chariot to violently strike the city gate. That gate, whose inner wall had been reinforced with molten iron, had already become severely dented under this prolonged fierce assault. Each time the Western Ling troops pushed the chariot to strike again, the entire gate would tremble precariously.

Many of the soldiers bracing the gate from behind had their internal organs injured by the shocks, blood flowing from their mouths and noses, their faces full of pain, yet they still held their position firmly without retreating a single step.

“General, too many have deserted. We don’t have enough men. We can’t spare anyone to transport the fire oil and wooden beams!” a personal guard with a bloodied face replied in despair.

The vice general’s face was also splattered with blood. He looked at the brutal battle situation above and below the city with desolate eyes, then raised his head to look at the still-fresh bloodied head hanging high below the commander’s flag, hidden tears glimmering in his eyes: “General Yang… this subordinate has failed your trust. I cannot hold Tiger Gorge Pass…”

Behind the city tower, there suddenly arose chaotic and urgent sounds of horse hooves.

“Lord Xiao has arrived in person! Reinforcements will arrive shortly! All Tiger Gorge Pass soldiers, listen to this order: you must defend the city gate to the death!”

The vice general looked toward the sound and saw dozens of mighty riders galloping at full speed. Among them, a banner bearing the character “Xiao” was raised high, and countless deserters who had returned to the pass followed behind.

The soldiers on the tower who had fallen into despair were all reinvigorated by this sight.

“Lord Xiao! It’s Lord Xiao who defeated the barbarians several times and joined forces with the Liang camp in Luodu to trap and kill Pei Song!”

“Reinforcements have arrived! We’re saved!”

The soldiers at the gate let out tremendous roars of joy, then transformed all their previous rage and resentment at being slaughtered by the Western Ling troops into fighting spirit, roaring as they counterattacked the Western Ling troops who had climbed onto the tower.

On the long street leading to the city gate, the Western Ling troops who had earlier launched a surprise attack on the inner city gate were locked in mortal combat with the garrison troops. Hearing the sound, they looked back to see black warhorses thundering past like dark clouds. They only heard the “clang” of long swords being unsheathed before blood flowed from the necks of those remaining Western Ling troops as they fell.

The returning deserters picked up usable weapons and armor on the spot, surging like a flood toward the city gate and the tower. The previously precarious Tiger Gorge Pass city gate was finally temporarily stabilized.

When the young officer led Xiao Li up to the city tower, the vice general hurried forward to greet him, clasping his fists excitedly: “Fortunately Lord Xiao brought troops to aid us, resolving Tiger Gorge Pass’s urgent crisis!”

Xiao Li had seen this vice general at Yang Shuo’s side before leaving the pass. He swept his eyes over the city tower once, noting that the Western Ling troops’ offensive below remained fierce, with battering rams and numerous scaling ladders already pushed beneath the city. His furrowed brows did not relax as he only said: “A moment to speak privately.”

The vice general heard something unusual in Xiao Li’s words and quickly led the group into what had been temporarily converted from a duty room into a council chamber on the tower: “This place is convenient. Lord Xiao, please speak freely.”

Only then did Xiao Li say: “There are no reinforcements.”

The vice general was stunned.

After Xiao Li explained everything, the vice general angrily slammed the long table heavily, his eyes also becoming thoroughly reddened with tears and rage: “So that’s how it was! General Yang’s entire family… was ruined by that dog thief Pei Song to such an extent!”

“Without killing that dog thief…” The vice general pounded his own chest: “I cannot dispel this hatred!”

The young officer beside him also wiped his eyes with his sleeve, turning his head away to continue wiping tears.

Xiao Li said: “My condolences.”

The vice general’s eyes were still red, but he quickly clasped his fists again and bowed deeply toward Xiao Li: “Lord Xiao’s righteousness is admirable. Knowing that Tiger Gorge Pass is now extremely perilous, you were still willing to come aid Tiger Gorge Pass. This subordinate is immensely grateful. However…”

His words became difficult: “Tiger Gorge Pass likely cannot be held… This subordinate will immediately deploy trusted men to escort Lord Xiao out of the city. Only if you leave Tiger Gorge Pass alive can my General’s tarnished reputation be cleared before the world! Only then will the world know that we soldiers of Tiger Gorge Pass were not spineless cowards who surrendered without a fight!”

Although Xiao Li had used his own reputation and the lie of reinforcements to bring back many deserters, the Western Ling troops’ offensive was fierce. If they could not greatly weaken them soon, and after prolonged fighting without seeing reinforcements arrive, once the garrison troops within the city realized that reinforcements were just a ruse, morale would surely collapse again.

At that time, Tiger Gorge Pass would become that easily shattered sand before Western Ling’s attack.

But defending the city was already difficult enough. To open the city gates wide and go out to battle with Western Ling, to blunt their momentum—that was harder than ascending to heaven.

The vice general understood all this and had prepared for the worst.

As he spoke, he took an unsealed letter from his bosom and presented it to Xiao Li with both hands: “This was left by my General before he took his own life. The General did not know about that secret passage in the border defense camp until his death. He wrote this confession, saying… he knew he was guilty, that in the past… out of gratitude for Old General Qin’s kindness in recognizing his worth, he let Pei Song leave the pass, never expecting it would lead to such a great disaster. He also knew no number of deaths could absolve him of this guilt, that he deserved to be this eternal sinner. However… he truly never defected to Pei Song, nor did he let the Western Ling troops into the pass. With the loss of Tiger Gorge Pass, he felt he had failed the Princess and failed all the people of Great Liang…”

Xiao Li furrowed his brows slightly, about to say something, when he noticed that among the letters the vice general handed him, besides one confession, there was also a divorce letter written to Madam Yang.

He asked: “This is?”

The vice general swallowed with difficulty and answered: “The General feared that the loss of Tiger Gorge Pass would implicate Madam and her natal family. When writing his confession, he also wrote this divorce letter for Madam…”

Once a divorce letter was finalized, from then on, whether the husband’s family enjoyed tremendous wealth or faced execution of nine generations of relatives, it would have nothing to do with the woman.

Xiao Li silently lowered his eyes to look at the divorce letter in his hand.

The ink on the page had smudged in several places, clearly showing that the person holding the brush had paused many times while writing these brief lines.

What fell in the lower left corner was not a seal, but a bloody fingerprint.

Yang Shuo wanted to sever this lifetime of marital fate in exchange for his wife’s peaceful second half of life.

He just didn’t know that when he wrote this divorce letter, Madam Yang had already preceded him to the Yellow Springs.

Xiao Li suddenly recalled the “harsh words” Wen Yu had released when he proposed to pursue this Western Ling force.

She said: “Xiao Li, I agreed to marry you, but I can also go back on it. You’re not anyone to me yet.”

“You haven’t accepted the imperial appointment documents. You’re not my Great Liang’s General Chen either.”

“I don’t need you to do anything for me, and Great Liang doesn’t need it either!”

“If Tiger Gorge Pass falls, if the Western Border is lost, that’s all due to my, Wen Yu’s, incompetence. Even if my name stinks through history, I alone will bear it. No need for you to lead tens of thousands of sons to fill it with their lives!”

A long-absent ache welled up in his chest, then diffused into a hidden pain.

How could he not know the fear hidden behind her forceful exterior?

She thought that by casting him aside, he could be safe.

Xiao Li raised his hand and swept the letter toward the candle. That divorce letter was quickly consumed by the flames, becoming scattered bits of ash on the table.

He asked: “Where is Pei Song now?”

The vice general looked startled for a moment, then quickly responded: “After General Yang met with that dog thief, he originally intended to apprehend him, but that dog thief was extremely cunning. He had Western Ling troops lurking in the shadows take civilians hostage to attack from the inner city gate, then escaped in the chaos. Before General Yang returned to the pass to take charge of the overall situation, he sent personal guards to capture that dog thief, but no news has been sent back yet.”

Xiao Li furrowed his brows again.

Just then, a tremendous boom came from the city wall outside the duty room, shaking the entire room and causing lime to fall.

Someone outside shouted: “The Western Ling troops are desperate and have sounded their horns to attack the city again!”

The vice general hurriedly said: “Quickly! Quickly! Escort Lord Xiao away…”

The group walked out of the duty room. The vice general called out to his personal guards to lead Xiao Li down from the city, but Xiao Li kicked up a long sword that had fallen on the city path. It pierced straight through a Western Ling soldier who had just climbed up from a scaling ladder.

That soldier was carried backward by the powerful force of that sword thrust and fell from the tower. The Western Ling soldier in front of him who was still fighting the garrison troops at the battlements also had his concentration broken by that soul-shaking sword strike and was seized upon by the garrison troops to be stabbed down.

Some Western Ling vanguard soldiers who had climbed the tower noticed that Xiao Li’s identity was extraordinary. They raised their swords and came to kill him, wanting to claim a major military achievement.

Xiao Li avoided the blade swinging toward him, grasped that Western Ling soldier’s head with one hand, and slammed it against the city wall. The latter immediately went limp like a noodle and collapsed unconscious.

The Wolf Riders who had come up to the tower with him also drew their swords and began fighting the Western Ling troops who had climbed the tower, becoming entangled in combat.

“Lord Xiao…”

The vice general awkwardly dodged stray arrows on the tower, about to continue calling for Xiao Li to descend, when he saw Xiao Li cutting through the Western Ling troops who had climbed the tower like cutting vegetables, heading toward the battlements.

A stray arrow shot toward him. He caught it bare-handed and crushed it in his palm, his cold eyes sweeping toward the battlefield below.

Amidst the rumbling drum sounds, the Western Ling troops roaring and charging below the city were like a swarm of locusts.

Clearly the Western Ling side also understood this was their only opportunity to capture Tiger Gorge Pass.

After all, there was turmoil within the pass, desertions were rampant, and the main general had just been executed before the formation. The remaining garrison troops at one point couldn’t even fill the gaps along the city wall.

Now, though they didn’t know what reason had brought back a batch of garrison troops, their scaling ladders and siege weapons had already been brought beneath the city.

Even if they had to fill it with human heads, they must fill the tower of Tiger Gorge Pass!

At the rear of the military formation, the Western Ling great general Nuger sat comfortably in a war chariot pulled by eight warhorses. Several drummers standing to his left and right were vigorously beating the war drums on the chariot, cheering on their charging comrades.

Not far from the commander’s formation, there was also a cavalry unit being continuously broken apart and divided into several small encirclement rings to be trapped and killed.

The vice general walked to the battlements and also saw the extremely fierce Western Ling offensive below and that trapped cavalry unit.

That cavalry unit was not appearing for the first time. Whenever Tiger Gorge Pass was fiercely attacked, that cavalry unit would charge out to disrupt the Western Ling formation.

But earlier when the pass was in chaos and the city gate was nearly breached, that cavalry unit no longer disrupted the Western Ling formation and then withdrew as before. Instead, they continued to entangle the Western Ling troops at the rear, which also caused them to be surrounded layer by layer by the Western Ling troops, completely cutting off their retreat.

The vice general said with guilt: “That cavalry unit was trapped to death because they helped Tiger Gorge Pass delay the Western Ling troops earlier. Now I fear… there’s no saving them.”

Xiao Li stared at the Western Ling great general Nuger sitting steadily beneath the commander’s flag on the war chariot, only saying: “Bring me a bow.”

Someone quickly brought over a hard bow. The vice general looked at the distance from the tower to the chariot and hurriedly said: “Lord Xiao, it’s too far. This exceeds five arrow-distances. That Western Ling barbarian leader fears death terribly and only dares to hide behind the military formation…”

Xiao Li took the bow and returned the letter the vice general had given him earlier to the other party, saying: “Lord Xiao will send two personal guards with the General. The General can dispatch men to accompany Lord Xiao’s personal guards to deliver letters to the Liang camp and explain everything about Tiger Gorge Pass.”

After a slight pause, he added: “If Lord Xiao doesn’t return from this journey, report to Hanyang and say… Xiao Li broke his word.”

Having finished speaking, he directly used the bow to vault over the battlements and leap down from the city.

“Lord Xiao—”

The vice general cried out in alarm, rushing to the battlements, only to see Xiao Li grab the side of a scaling ladder outside the battlements with one hand. During his rapid descent, he kicked down all the Western Ling soldiers still climbing up the ladder.

The archers below saw this and quickly shot arrows at him, which he blocked entirely with his long bow.

Seeing this, the Wolf Riders fighting on the tower also followed suit, leaping down from the tower after Xiao Li.

That scene was truly quite shocking.

The vice general’s eyes immediately reddened with emotion. He shouted: “Archers! Provide cover!”

The archers on the tower immediately shot arrows at the Western Ling archers below, but this also exposed themselves. For a time, archers from both sides were continuously falling.

Before landing, Xiao Li used an arrow he had intercepted mid-air to nock his bow, shooting and killing a Western Ling junior officer galloping toward him on horseback. Then using the bow as a blade, he knocked down the Western Ling soldiers blocking his path, mounted the warhorse, and charged straight toward the commander’s formation. More than ten Wolf Riders followed closely behind.

The Western Ling troops charging below the city were like hyenas swarming out of their den to snatch food. They rode against the tide like a pack of wolves.

The vice general watched from the battlements, his heart pounding with fear, cold sweat soaking his back. He continued shouting: “Archers! Fill the gaps!”

The garrison troops on the tower, unable to spare time to drag away the corpses of fallen comrades, quickly filled the positions at the battlements and continued shooting arrows, helping to bring down those Western Ling soldiers roaring as they thrust their long spears at Xiao Li’s group, opening a path for them.

Xiao Li kept his form as low as possible, lying flat on the horse’s back. The wind blowing toward him carried not only sand and dust but also the stench of blood. A Western Ling officer raised his spear and roared as he charged at him on horseback.

In just one encounter, the opponent rolled and fell from his horse, and that long spear came into Xiao Li’s hands.

Now his advance toward the commander’s formation became smoother. The long spear pierced left and right, impaling countless Western Ling soldiers along the way.

Far away on the war chariot, Nuger also saw Xiao Li. He had personally witnessed how this man, when accompanying Nilu to intercept Pei Song, had broken through a formation of ten thousand men as ferociously as a wild wolf.

Now seeing Xiao Li charging straight at him, clearly intending to capture the king, he became immediately vigilant and shouted in the Western Ling language: “This person is the new marquis of Great Liang’s northern border! Whoever takes his head will be rewarded with ten thousand gold and granted the rank of great general!”

Many officers guarding around the commander’s formation immediately spurred their horses forward, with archers following closely behind.

Xiao Li placed his index finger to his lips and blew an extremely loud, sharp whistle.

Zheng Hu and the other Wolf Riders, who had been surrounded by the Western Ling troops for a long time, were already exhausted, both men and horses. Now they wanted to retreat toward the Great Desert, but the encircling formations had become increasingly tight. Their unit had been divided into several groups, dispersing their impact force. No matter which direction they charged, they couldn’t break through, only becoming increasingly exhausted.

Now hearing the whistle, everyone’s spirits were finally lifted.

Zheng Hu shouted: “It’s Second Brother!”

Sweat mixed with dirt and blood slid down his face. He raised his head to scan the battlefield, but layers upon layers of people and horses blocked his view. He couldn’t distinguish Xiao Li’s position at all and could only shout according to the whistle’s command: “Head toward the Western Ling commander’s flag!”

The only thing clearly visible on the battlefield was that commander’s flag standing high on the war chariot at the commander’s formation.

Sharp whistles began to rise and fall across the battlefield. The cavalry units that had been divided into several groups and were already showing signs of defeat suddenly fought desperately toward the commander’s formation.

From his commander’s chariot, Nuger could see all the battlefield conditions clearly. He issued orders to erect several rows of giant shields in front of the commander’s formation to resist the cavalry’s charge.

The Western Ling officers and archers who had just charged out to take Xiao Li’s head also feared for Nuger’s safety and withdrew some forces to guard the commander’s formation.

After Xiao Li confirmed he had reached archery range, he gave those Western Ling officers no chance to close in. Under the Wolf Riders’ cover, his arrow flew like a rainbow from the bowstring, piercing through countless Western Ling officers who fell straight from their horses.

Several drummers beating drums on the war chariot were also shot down in this instant.

The drum sounds suddenly weakened. The momentum of the attack was broken. The roars of the charging Western Ling troops also weakened all at once.

Some Western Ling junior officers leading charges saw the rear commander’s formation under attack and, unable to continue attacking the city, hurriedly redirected troops to rush back for support.

Nuger saw that the entire battle situation had been completely disrupted by Xiao Li. Enraged, he stood up and kicked over the small table in front of him, shouting: “Annihilate that traitorous general with all your might!”

Just as his words fell, an arrow carrying tremendous force shot straight at him.

While dodging in panic, Nuger lost his footing and tumbled down the steps. That arrow struck dead center into the Western Ling commander’s flag pole behind him, which was painted with fierce beast patterns.

“General!” His personal guards scrambled forward to help him up, then ordered guards to raise thick shields to completely surround Nuger.

Nuger knew he had been humiliated. Unable to contain his rage, he shoved away the personal guard supporting him and cursed: “He’s skilled with the bow, but you’re not? Shoot!”

The archers below were in an awkward position. When the opponent had been shooting the drummers on the chariot earlier, they had wanted to return fire, but the opponent was shooting from beyond one arrow-distance away. How could they return fire?

Fortunately, the opponent had now ridden closer. The archers immediately drew their bows, arrows flying like a sudden rainstorm.

Xiao Li grabbed a Western Ling junior officer who had charged to kill him and held him in front as a shield. That Western Ling officer, not yet dead, expired under the hail of arrows, blood flowing from his mouth.

“Second Brother!”

Zheng Hu, who had fought his way through with the Wolf Riders, finally saw Xiao Li and whipped his horse’s flanks hard, charging in this direction.

Of the Wolf Riders who had leaped down from the tower with Xiao Li, only a few remained, their bodies bathed in blood as they rode behind him on horseback.

His face splattered with blood, his eyes extremely fierce, he threw away the Western Ling officer he had been holding in front to block arrows and shouted: “Charge the formation!”

The cavalry converging with Zheng Hu had long since killed until their eyes were red. They immediately dug their heels hard into their horses’ flanks and charged with Xiao Li toward the commander’s formation with its wall of shields, roaring: “Kill—”

Either die miserably surrounded by these twenty thousand-plus Western Ling troops, or break through their commander’s formation and take the head of the Western Ling general—even the myriad ghosts on the road to the Yellow Springs would call them heroes!

The warhorses reared up high on their front hooves, stomping heavily on the giant shields braced tightly by several rows of Western Ling soldiers. Behind them, Western Ling troops holding spears roared as they thrust countless long spears through the gaps between the giant shields.

Some Wolf Riders died at the points of these spears. Some Western Ling soldiers couldn’t withstand this tremendous impact—entire giant shields toppled backward, crushing the soldiers beneath who couldn’t crawl out in time, killed by the trampling warhorses.

Gaps were smashed open in the shield wall. The two forces were thoroughly entangled in combat.

For a time, the battlefield echoed only with the sounds of clashing weapons and roars, blood splashing into the yellow sand in spurts.

Xiao Li took the lead, smashing through the Western Ling soldiers blocking his path, charging straight toward the commander’s chariot, his blood-dripping face like an asura.

Seeing this, Nuger on the chariot knew he couldn’t stop the opponent. Caring about nothing else, he rushed down from the commander’s chariot, mounted his horse, and fled in panic.

Xiao Li saw this, his eyes turning fierce. He drew his long bow on horseback, reaching for his quiver only to discover he was out of arrows. Just then, a Western Ling soldier holding a long spear roared as he thrust it at him. Xiao Li grasped the long spear with one hand, flicked his wrist to shake off the soldier, then hurled the spear forward with great force.

While fleeing on horseback, Nuger glanced back, his pupils contracting in terror. He quickly crouched low on his horse’s back to dodge that long spear.

Xiao Li gave a deep shout and continued spurring his horse in pursuit.

A Western Ling officer killed his way out to block him, shouting in the Western Ling language: “Where are you going! Your opponent is me!”

The opponent wielded a horse lance, truly impressive and imposing. Yet in just one encounter, blood flowed from his neck as he toppled sideways from his horse, and that horse lance was also seized by Xiao Li.

Passing by the commander’s chariot, Xiao Li used that horse lance to strike in passing. The commander’s flag on the chariot fell in response. The Western Ling soldiers on the battlefield immediately erupted in clamor, falling into tremendous panic, no longer maintaining their previous momentum.

When Nuger looked back again to see this scene, his face turned deathly pale.

The Western Ling soldiers on the battlefield scattered in panic under their terror, blocking his escape route. Soon Xiao Li caught up with him.

Nuger knew he couldn’t escape. He gritted his teeth and simply roared as he charged at Xiao Li with a long sword: “Boy! Don’t think this general fears you!”

Xiao Li’s eyes were cold as murder. Without a word, he simply spurred his horse forward to meet him. When the horse lance in his hand collided fiercely with Nuger’s long-handled war sword, the war sword was directly severed. The horse lance’s momentum continued unabated, blood instantly splashing onto the yellow sand.

Under the scorching sun, Xiao Li sat high on horseback, raising Nuger’s head.

The Wolf Riders erupted in tremendous roars. Now it was Western Ling’s turn to collapse into complete rout.

The vice general on the tower saw this scene and nearly wept with joy. He pounded the city bricks in front of him forcefully and urgently ordered: “Quickly! Quickly! Send troops out of the city! Eliminate the remaining enemy!”

The garrison troops within the city saw Xiao Li lead the Wolf Riders straight into the Western Ling commander’s formation and were also watching with tremendous excitement, their blood boiling.

When the Tiger Gorge Pass city gate that had been battered until it was ready to collapse was opened from within, the soldiers inside roared as they poured out, their momentum astounding.

In contrast, the Western Ling soldiers who had been jamming the gate entrance and pushing battering rams to strike the city gate no longer had their previous might. Pressed back again and again by the garrison troops from within the city, they finally abandoned their helmets and armor and fled in all directions. That chariot bearing the battering ram was pushed over and rolled on the ground with no one paying it any mind…

The battle situation on the field suddenly reversed. When Xiao Li rode to rejoin the Wolf Riders, he saw Zheng Hu being supported by Wolf Riders as he sat at the commander’s chariot, his face deathly pale.

Two arrows had struck his back, and his waist and abdomen had also been slashed with an extremely long wound. For now, he had only briefly treated the wounds, and the cloth strips binding them had soaked through with large patches of blood.

Xiao Li’s body was also covered in blood stains, impossible to distinguish whether they were others’ or his own. He asked: “How severe are your injuries?”

With a face pale from excessive blood loss, Zheng Hu grinned at Xiao Li: “Won’t die.”

Supported by Wolf Riders as he stood, his face paled even more from the movement of his wounds. He grimaced and said: “It’s just that I can’t accompany Second Brother to punish that dog thief Pei Song and avenge Mother…”

Xiao Li raised his hand and placed it on his shoulder, saying: “After returning to the city, heal your wounds well. That dog thief’s head, I will personally go retrieve.”

A Wolf Rider came to report: “Lord, the scattered Western Ling soldiers have fled deep into the Great Desert!”

Xiao Li glanced at the fleeing Western Ling soldiers in the distance toward the Great Desert and said: “Don’t pursue a desperate enemy. Return to the city!”

The group rode back to the city. When they reached beneath Tiger Gorge Pass, the vice general rushed out of the city to greet them, nearly weeping with joy: “Thank you, Lord Xiao, for once again saving the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians of Tiger Gorge Pass from fire and water. This subordinate… is immensely grateful! Please accept this bow from this subordinate on behalf of all the military and civilians within the pass!”

Having spoken, he actually led the soldiers who had come out of the city to kneel together. Xiao Li and the Wolf Riders were still on horseback and couldn’t stop them in time, actually receiving their full bow.

The Wolf Riders clearly hadn’t experienced such a situation before and were all somewhat dazed for a moment.

Xiao Li, his body still marked with dried blood, dismounted and helped the vice general up, saying: “General, please rise quickly. That Tiger Gorge Pass could be held is all due to General Yang’s merit. If not for General Yang beheading himself to stabilize the troops’ morale, allowing all the Tiger Gorge Pass soldiers to firmly hold the city gate for so long despite Pei Song’s vicious scheme, Lord Xiao could not have made this gambit with his subordinate brothers.”

At the mention of Yang Shuo, sorrow welled up in the vice general’s heart again. He said: “You and General Yang are both benefactors of all the soldiers of Tiger Gorge Pass!”

Having spoken, he turned to look at that head still hanging high beneath the commander’s flag on the tower, his eyes reddening: “General Yang, Tiger Gorge Pass has been held!”

These words caused quite a few soldiers around them to also redden their eyes, awkwardly raising their hands to wipe them.

Xiao Li looked toward beneath the commander’s flag, his face also showing emotion.

“Report—”

Behind the city gate, a garrison soldier from within the pass suddenly galloped forward on horseback. Before reaching them, he tumbled from the horse’s back. Disregarding his pain, he urgently said: “While we were eliminating the remaining Western Ling troops within the city on the East Gate Avenue, we discovered Pei Song’s whereabouts!”

–

Pei Song kicked aside the last obstructing garrison soldier, drew his long sword, and several drops of blood splattered on his face. The expression on his face seemed both resentful and crazed.

The few remaining lackeys who hadn’t died rushed over with a commandeered carriage and called out to Pei Song: “Master, Yang Shuo confessed his guilt and beheaded himself to rally the troops’ morale. Tiger Gorge Pass was not breached. We should leave the city first. Earlier during the fighting, a rat slipped away and ran back. When the garrison troops within the city catch up, we’ll be in trouble!”

Beside them, the family whose carriage had been stolen—the husband and wife, along with the accompanying servants—all lay in pools of blood. Only a four or five-year-old child remained, staring blankly at his tragically dead parents sitting dazedly against a bloodstained wall, not even daring to cry.

Pei Song flicked the blood from his sword tip. The anger in his eyes unabated, he sneered coldly: “How could he, Yang Shuo, be so ungrateful?

“If he had submitted to this Minister, and opened Tiger Gorge Pass’s gates wide, this Minister would naturally have clarified publicly that the Western Ling troops entered the city through that secret passage in the border defense camp, and that he surrendered to this Minister under duress to protect the civilians within the city. Thus, wouldn’t the good reputation he wanted have been preserved?

“Why would he and his entire Yang family be so ungrateful!”

Probably extremely enraged, when Pei Song spoke that last sentence, his tone was especially cold.

When sheathing his sword, a drop of blood from the blade splattered right onto the child’s cheek against the wall. The pouch clutched in the child’s hand was dropped into the pool of blood in fright, yet still he dared not make a single sound of crying.

Pei Song seemed to have just noticed this young brat he had been ignoring for some time. With that smile playing at his lips, he crouched halfway down to pick up the pouch the child had dropped in the blood, returning it to the other party. Looking at the other party trembling, tears gathering in the eye sockets yet not daring to cry at all, he asked leisurely: “Are you afraid of me?”

The child dared not speak. His thin body trembled even more violently. Not daring to cry, his breathing seemed especially labored, faintly carrying small choked sobs.

Pei Song looked at the blood-stained pouch in his hand, then glanced at that couple not far away whose eyes were still wide open looking this way even in death, and said slowly: “Oh, your parents were mistakenly killed by my men.”

The arc of his lips widened further: “If you seek revenge on me in the future, no one will say you’re wrong. But I also just wanted to take revenge—why is everyone saying I’m wrong?”

In extreme panic, the child couldn’t understand what he was saying at all. Only large tears fell down, and small sobbing sounds emerged from his throat.

Pei Song lost patience. His fingertips loosened, and the blood-stained pouch in his hand fell back into the pool of blood. He smiled mockingly: “I’ll wait and see what choice that brat who escaped from the Yang family will make in the future.”

The fact that Western Ling troops appeared out of nowhere within Tiger Gorge Pass was reality. Would Hanyang believe that Yang Shuo truly had not defected to him?

Would those people of the Wen clan, sanctimonious to their bones, stand against public opinion for such a “criminal’s son” so closely connected to his Qin family, claiming Yang Shuo was wronged?

The more loyal one had been, the more enraged one would be when that loyalty was betrayed, right?

His best revenge against Yang Shuo was to make his son walk the same path as himself!

When the lackey urged him again, Pei Song narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky.

Actually, he didn’t want to flee anymore.

But soon, he smiled again: “Mm, it’s time to go.

“The gentleman and I still have an appointment to make him Imperial Tutor in Luodu.”