“Mang Hu, do we even need to ask? It’s clear that Dong Lao is tired of living and has come to offer his life to us,” Wolf Head mocked in agreement.
Ruo Wen showed no intention of stopping their rudeness. Instead, he wore an even more inscrutable expression, his sharp gaze fixed on Huang Beishuang. He couldn’t understand why, whenever he saw her, an uncontrollable turmoil stirred in his heart, making him anxious and feverish.
“Ruo Wen, let them go! For you, this is just unnecessary plunder. I don’t need those jewels and food!” Huang Beishuang met his gaze. After she spoke, they both fell silent for a long time.
“You don’t think you can force me to back down with just these few people, do you? Don’t assume you’re the only one with ash cannons. Ours are much bigger!” He stepped back, revealing several rows of cannon barrels aimed at them. Dong Bahei’s group was instantly shaken.
“Ruo Wen, you see me here alone. Where do you think Qing Yun is?” Huang Beishuang tried her best to maintain her composure, showing no trace of fear.
“What do you mean? I know that old man has more than just these few people. Are you distracting me while another group sets up an ambush?” Though Ruo Wen said this, he remained unshaken.
As the standoff continued, one of Luo Ying’s subordinates came to report to Ruo Wen. After listening, Ruo Wen’s expression darkened. “So it’s true!” He looked up at Huang Beishuang. “You found our granary and sent over a hundred people, each with a pack of explosives, to sit inside? As guests?”
Huang Beishuang gritted her teeth and replied, “You’re right! You have more people. If we both detonate, we might all perish without winning. But you still need to eat, don’t you? Isn’t that why you kill and plunder? I’m not asking for much, and you don’t need to lose everything.”
Ruo Wen looked at Huang Beishuang, his lips twitching slightly. “Cheng Xiang, bring all the living captives here.” Then he nodded to Mang Hu beside him.
Hearing this, Huang Beishuang relaxed slightly, silently calming herself and hoping nothing else would go wrong.
“Tell me, how did you know where our granary was?” Ruo Wen asked casually.
“In your room, I saw the map hanging on the wall…” Huang Beishuang said.
“Impressive! You noticed that even in that situation. Well done!” Ruo Wen smiled. By now, the Ena Yi captives had been brought out. They were emaciated from torture, standing listlessly between the two groups.
“Why are there so few left?” Huang Beishuang erupted in anger, unable to control herself as she shouted at Ruo Wen.
“Of course, only these are left!” Ruo Wen laughed wildly. “If you had come any later, even these wouldn’t remain!”
Huang Beishuang looked at her tribespeople with immense grief. Ten guards and three maids remained, all tortured to near breakdown. One hundred and fifty people! One hundred and fifty people! Now reduced to this.
“Release them!” Her fingers interlocked tightly, joints cracking.
Ruo Wen shrugged indifferently in agreement. The thirteen people stumbled towards Huang Beishuang.
“Miss, Miss, your people have returned, but mine are still inside!” Dong Bahei quickly pushed Huang Beishuang, unsure how long this false calm would last.
Huang Beishuang ignored him, glaring at Ruo Wen, her eyes blazing. “Ruo Wen, you’re not human! You’re a madman! A madman who deserves death! You’re utterly depraved! Where is Duo Zai Mama? Hand her over! I want to see her, alive or dead!” She held back tears that threatened to spill.
“Little girl, don’t push your luck. If you anger our leader, no one will have a good time!” Wolf Head stepped forward smugly.
At this moment, Mang Hu and Luo Ying returned, nodding to Ruo Wen as they stood beside him. Ruo Wen smiled and strode forward.
“Brothers! Today we’ve been looked down upon. They dare to come to challenge our camp with just a few hundred men. Are you willing to accept this? Are you satisfied?” His voice was full of power. A roar of discontent rose like waves, the momentum surging towards Dong Bahei’s group.
“Dong Bahei, listen up. I don’t need the stuff in the granary anymore. We won’t starve! I, Ruo Wen, don’t play with the lives of true brothers. My men have all moved out now. You can blow up whatever you want. When you’re done, I’ll make sure to pay my respects to you properly!” He stood at the front, intimidating and fierce like an angry lion, his eyes gleaming.
Dong Bahei’s few hundred men were so frightened they nearly sat down on the spot. It was a wonder they hadn’t turned and run already.
“Brothers, surround them! Don’t let even a grain of sand escape!” Ruo Wen drew his curved sword, and thousands responded in layers. It seemed his earlier calm was just to buy time to mobilize his forces. Now, he was poised to annihilate the enemy and seize their assets!
However, this still didn’t panic Huang Beishuang. Her eyes gleamed with determination for a final gambit.
“Ruo Wen, Qing Yun isn’t here, but he’s not in the granary where you think he is. Guess where he is now?” She spoke fearlessly.
Hearing this, Ruo Wen sensed something was amiss and waved his hand, causing his men to step back. “So your target wasn’t the granary?” he asked gravely.
“The dead wind zone! You chose quite a place to set up camp!” Huang Beishuang sneered.
Ruo Wen’s expression grew increasingly grim.
“A ten-li area of loose sand, a crescent-shaped semi-fixed dune. At first glance, it seems this peak is only 3 or 4 zhang high, harmless,” Huang Beishuang stepped forward. “Of course, that’s only if the dune behind it is still there. What do you think would happen if we blew it up?”
Huang Beishuang spoke each word deliberately, her voice filled with resolve and mockery, as she played with what appeared to be a signal flare in her hand.
“This place would instantly become a quicksand pit with a drop of several hundred zhang. We would die, and so would you!” Ruo Wen narrowed his eyes at her. “You want mutual destruction?”
He was amazed at her understanding of desert terrain. He had used many tricks to conceal the secret of this dead wind zone. They had been camped here for nearly three months, and no one had ever discovered any flaw. Yet now, she had exposed it in just a few words.
“It doesn’t have to end in mutual destruction! Just return Duo Zai to me, along with those bandits in the granary.”
Huang Beishuang looked at him. For her, this was the final gambit. Life or death, it was no longer in her hands.
Ruo Wen was silent for a moment, his eyes focusing as if he too had made a decision.