And this was only the beginning.
The Chaoli tribespeople launched wave after wave of fierce attacks, each time leaving behind a dozen or several dozen bodies before withdrawing — only to return again half an hour or an hour later.
After repelling the enemy once more, Gu Yanxi looked at the faint brightening on the horizon for a long moment before turning back. Chen Qing was leading the men in moving the Chaoli bodies into a pile while their own fallen brothers were carried with care and laid separately to one side. Off to the side of the road, others were digging — this would be the Seven Lodges Division’s fallen members’ resting place for now.
The Seven Lodges Division had taken severe losses this engagement, reduced from thirty-seven people down to only sixteen, a full twenty-one killed — and it had taken nearly a decade to train a force like this.
Again the sound of hooves — everyone leapt to their feet in alert. Exhausted and wounded as they were, they had to endure.
Gu Yanxi’s ears shifted slightly. He let out a long breath. The reinforcements had arrived — earlier than expected.
Some people simply dropped back down where they stood, unable to stand again for some time to come.
Before the horses had even stopped, the leader of the group vaulted to the ground. It was Wang Rong.
Wang Rong bowed to the ground. “Reporting to the leader.”
Gu Yanxi told him to rise. “How many came? Did you encounter Yuan Shifang on the way?”
“Yes — I have arranged for people to escort Yuan Shifang to the capital. Two hundred came with me this time.”
Two hundred people — likely the absolute limit of what the Seven Lodges Division could pull from the capital. Gu Yanxi cast a cold, hard look toward Yuzhou. “You have arrived at the right moment. Take the men and go around to that side and set up an ambush. The Chaoli should launch one more assault — we will strike from both front and rear. Not a single one is to escape.”
“Yes.” Wang Rong looked at the brothers who had breathed their last on that side of the road, felt his nose sting, bit hard at the inside of his cheek, and turned away to make his arrangements, his head down. He swore: if even a single one slipped through his hands, he would offer his own head in payment!
Just as Gu Yanxi had predicted, the Chaoli tribespeople launched another charge before long. Though their own losses had been heavier, their total numbers had from the beginning far exceeded the Seven Lodges Division’s — even now they still numbered over fifty. And from the previous exchanges they had already sized up the Seven Lodges Division’s strength: fewer than twenty people remaining. How could they let this opportunity pass?
Their target was clear — five people drove straight for Gu Yanxi, while the others went first for the wounded. They were bent on finishing this.
But this time, fortune was not on their side. The moment they arrived, Wang Rong and his men closed in from behind, surrounding them completely. Whips coiled around their long blades in an instant, and the Chaoli tribespeople were sent spinning through the air.
Fifty-four people — not one escaped. Fifty died on the spot. Gu Yanxi spared only four as living captives, but had their jaws dislocated. The Chaoli were known for their ferocity and stubbornness — he intended to hand these four over to Shao Yao, and in this regard she had never once disappointed him.
“Chen Qing, arrange for people to search along the road, find everyone and bring them back. Then take my official seal and find the local government — have them send men to dispose of the Chaoli bodies.”
“Yes.”
“Wang Rong, you take fifty men and go through Yuzhou thoroughly. Follow the vine from the root of Yuan Shifang and investigate — I suspect there is more than one Chaoli infiltrator hidden in Yuzhou.”
“Yes.”
“Leader.” A man jogged over, the shoulder of his garment already torn away, exposing a wound beneath that had raw flesh turned outward. He seemed to feel no pain — he held out a piece of silk cloth with both hands. “Found on one of the Chaoli.”
Gu Yanxi took it and unfolded it — unsurprisingly, a map. Very detailed: detailed enough to show at least three routes from Yuzhou leading all the way to the capital.
He had earlier taken care to memorize Yuan Shifang’s handwriting. This was not his. He held the cloth to his nose and sniffed — then handed it to Wang Rong. “Find this person. Death by a thousand cuts.”
“This subordinate will give him the welcome he deserves.” Wang Rong seethed with barely contained fury. If this person also turned out to be Chaoli, that was one thing — but if they were a subject of the Great Qing dynasty, he would make them regret they had ever lived!
“Everyone stay alert — the hidden enemies may not be limited to these, and there may well be more attacks to come.”
“Yes.”
By now the eastern horizon had begun to glow with the first light of dawn, its colors spreading to stain nearly half the sky a brilliant red — like a vivid, luminous curtain unfurled to set the stage for the sun that would soon illuminate the entire world.
If A’Zhi were here, she would probably be smiling. The kind of smile that began in the heart and spread to the eyes, then from the eyes across every inch of her face. As long as he could see her smile, no matter what had happened, none of it would seem to weigh anything at all.
Soon. It would not be long before they met again.
Hua Zhi slept through to the following day. When she woke from deep sleep, her very first sensation was pain — far worse than that time at the estate.
“Miss, you’re awake?” Bao Xia could barely contain her relief, tears threatening to spill. “Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? I’ll get you something to eat!”
She rattled off the words, then jumped up and ran off. Shao Yao did not pause her work of applying medicine to the wounds, rolling her eyes and continuing without missing a beat. What was there to get so worked up about — she was the one holding it together!
The body was in pain, it was thirsty, and it was hungry — yet every discomfort together could not overpower the profound exhaustion weighing down every limb. For a moment, Hua Zhi had the strange sensation that everything below her neck no longer belonged to her. She wished the pain had gone with it.
“What time is it?”
“It’s the next day. The boat was paid for and it’s not going anywhere, so I had them push back the departure by a day — they didn’t dare object. By now, who in Zhenyang doesn’t know we’re a pack of fearsome demons.”
“…” What on earth was there to feel proud about in that? Hua Zhi, drained of all energy, felt the urge to close her eyes again.
“Don’t sleep, don’t sleep — Huahua, hold on a little longer. Eat something first, then sleep.”
“I won’t sleep.” Hua Zhi forced her eyes back open. “How are everyone’s injuries?”
“Don’t worry — yours are the worst. I’ll make up a medicinal formula for you when we’re back. You should take herbal baths every day — it’ll strengthen you. Huahua, your stamina really is lacking.”
“…” She had no need of stamina, thank you very much. Hua Zhi made a small inward jest and was privately rather amused by herself — even a hint of a smile found its way to her face. “I’ve been practicing my boxing for half a year and I’m already much better. If it had been back when I was at the estate, I couldn’t have lasted nearly this long.”
“The boxing form I commandeered — of course it’s good.” Just as she was speaking, Bao Xia came in carrying a wooden tray. Before any scent of food reached them, the smell of medicinal herbs already had.
“You’ll need to eat medicinal meals for a while. I’ve already bought the herbs and had them loaded onto the ship. Huahua — you’re a woman. You can’t keep losing this much blood and vital energy. The toll on your body is too great. If you don’t replenish it properly, you’ll suffer for it later.”
“Yes, yes, as you say.”
Hearing her comply so obediently, Shao Yao was instantly pleased. “Don’t worry — it’s good. Smells a bit medicinal, but it won’t taste like it.”
Hua Zhi laughed and kept up the banter with her, coaxing her into even better spirits. It was as if the Shao Yao who had seemed ready to devour the world whole just yesterday had never existed.
Hua Zhi herself was not a person who clung to things or to people. She was simply too clear-eyed about letting go — however fine something was, if it could not be hers, she would not dwell on it for even a moment. But this did not stop her from genuinely respecting those who had held fast to what they cherished. Like Shao Yao — she had forgotten all of her family, but never forgotten the conviction she once held in her heart. Even if she could never be the female general she had once dreamed of being, certain things had long since become instinct, had become the very baseline by which she governed herself and demanded of others. She admired people like that.