The sky of July changed in the blink of an eye. Just a few days ago, the sun blazed brilliantly, but now the heavens had transformed into a scene of wind and clouds, with bean-sized raindrops mingling with wailing winds pouring down in torrents. The dark, oppressive sky seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
Xiao Du stood motionless in the rain, gazing at the forward outpost camp that had been trampled by iron hooves, and the corpses scattered everywhere wearing Xiao family army uniforms. Rainwater mixed with already dried blood formed crimson streams, staining his black boots red. Ignoring the dissuasion of the soldiers beside him, he removed his cloak, knelt on one knee, and covered a fallen soldier with it. He then reached out to close the man’s staring eyes. Ice-cold rainwater slid down his cheeks, pelting the wounded earth all around.
At this moment, Deputy General Feng Yuan came running urgently, saying: “My lord, terrible news! According to the scouts’ reports, Pingdu Pass has indeed been occupied by the Black Cavalry! The situation in the city is unclear now, and we don’t know if the Madam and the others managed to escape.”
Xiao Du’s body trembled violently, but he still managed to stand calmly and said: “Pass down the order – set up camp on the spot. The entire army should intensify training and be ready for battle at any time!”
He then pushed away the rain cape offered by someone beside him and walked alone to a nearby mound. Wiping the rainwater from his face, he struggled to calm the terror in his heart: Pingdu Pass has fallen! Pingdu Pass has fallen! Did Yuanxi, Father, and Second Brother escape? If they didn’t, how would the Wu people treat them…
Xiao Du dug his nails deeply into his flesh, telling himself not to think further. There was still an entire city of common people waiting for him to rescue them. Behind Pingdu Pass lay the entire territory of Great Mu – he absolutely could not lose his composure due to concerns for his family’s safety. If he couldn’t calm down and devise a strategy, the Central Plains would be in grave danger.
But how could he not think? That flower-like smiling face, those steady and loving eyes, and that frail brother who looked up to him – they seemed to stand before him, yet were ruthlessly crushed by the cold rain. Xiao Du contorted his face in pain, drew his dagger, and cut deeply into his arm, using the physical pain to ease the anguish in his heart. Watching his blood drip continuously with the rainwater, he straightened his back, gazed toward Pingdu Pass, and made a silent vow in his heart…
When night fell, the heavy rain finally began to subside. Near a small crevice by the walls of Pingdu Pass, a lightly armed team of soldiers was secretly infiltrating the city under Luo Yuan’s leadership. This was a place Luo Yuan had discovered long ago – an passage that had fallen into disrepair over the years. Heavy stone blocks had accumulated to form a narrow gap that couldn’t accommodate large cavalry units, but was sufficient for dozens of people to pass through.
Luo Yuan followed behind the soldiers, struggling to climb over the stone pile. Suddenly remembering something, he turned back to extend his hand to Yuanxi behind him. But Yuanxi shook her head, tied up her skirts, and climbed over by supporting herself against the wall. Fifty short-blade wielders thus secretly slipped into the city under cover of night. Although they all understood that the city must have suffered greatly under the Black Cavalry’s looting, when they actually crept to the streets, they were still shocked into stunned silence by the scene before them.
The once peaceful and tranquil pass city no longer existed. Countless houses had been burned down, scattered items thrown during the looting lay strewn across the streets, and bodies lay sprawled everywhere – elderly people clutching their bundles who had been stabbed through the chest, women naked and covered in blood, and even children with half their heads severed… Such horrific scenes resembled a hellish purgatory that would move heaven and earth to sorrow. Yuanxi covered her mouth and stepped back several paces, crouching down to weep silently. Luo Yuan clenched his fists, no longer able to control the hot tears falling from his eyes. Even those battle-hardened soldiers covered their faces and turned away, their expressions filled with rage and anguish.
At this moment, sounds came from a nearby alley. Luo Yuan’s expression changed, and he quickly directed everyone to retreat quietly into the darkness.
The sounds grew closer – it was actually a song sung in the Wu language. It turned out to be a group of drunken Black Cavalry soldiers swaying and wandering through the street. They sang off-key while proudly showing off their spoils of war. Luo Yuan and the soldiers behind him silently watched these vicious wolves in the darkness. Their hands were stained with their compatriots’ blood, and they were squandering what many people had worked their entire lives to earn.
Seeing the Black Cavalry team enter a secluded alley, Luo Yuan used hand signals to indicate that the soldiers behind him should follow and attack. The Xiao family army had always been well-trained – fifty men moving through the dark night without making a single sound. With cold expressions and hearts full of hatred, they drew their blades and struck at the Black Cavalry soldiers. The cavalrymen who had just been celebrating were stunned by these killing gods who descended from nowhere, momentarily forgetting to call for help. When they tried to resist, they were cut open and trampled underfoot by the red-eyed soldiers. In the dark alley, the continuous sounds of short blades piercing flesh could be heard, accompanied by intermittent screams. Luo Yuan and Yuanxi quietly leaned against the wall, watching the soldiers before them continue to hack at the corpses on the ground as if venting their fury, wishing they could cut these barbarians into a thousand pieces to ease the pain in their hearts.
At this moment, Yuanxi suddenly noticed movement in the bamboo baskets piled in the alley and quickly said to Luo Yuan: “What’s that!”
Several soldiers heard her call and, thinking there might be an ambush there, were about to stab into the basket when Luo Yuan quickly stepped forward and shouted: “Don’t!” He ran over and lifted the basket, discovering a blood-covered little boy of about four or five years old sitting inside. The child was hugging his knees, shrinking his neck, trembling all over, and mumbling incoherently: “Don’t… don’t… kill me.”
Yuanxi’s heart ached seeing this, and she quickly lifted him out, asking: “It’s alright now, you’re safe. Where is your family?”
The child looked up at Yuanxi with his dark eyes, seeming to confirm his safety, then began crying loudly: “Dead… all dead… monsters… so many monsters… kill… them…”
The thick, childish crying carried infinite fear and despair. Everyone present felt heartbroken hearing it. Yuanxi held him tightly, choking back tears as she said: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. We’ll protect you. No monsters can harm you now.”
Seeing dawn approaching, Yuanxi quickly led the group to search for a cellar she had heard about before. The Xiao family soldiers still hadn’t vented their anger and killed several more scattered Black Cavalry soldiers along the way.
It was said that the cellar had been built by a local gentry and had been abandoned for a long time. Yuanxi had heard the maidservants in the mansion mention it and had taken note, never thinking it would actually come in handy now. The group finally found the cellar and discovered it was as large as two rooms, which delighted everyone. Yuanxi took out medical supplies to treat the child’s wounds, but the boy had already been frightened out of his wits. He only said his name was Zhuzi, then sat fearfully in the corner hugging his legs, refusing to come out no matter what.
Yuanxi understood he had suffered great trauma and didn’t force him. She began bandaging the lightly wounded Xiao family soldiers. Having just killed many enemy soldiers with their own hands, the soldiers were in high spirits, clamoring to go kill more barbarians and collect the blood debt owed to the common people and their brothers. But Luo Yuan said: “We just killed quite a few Black Cavalry soldiers. When dawn breaks, their commanders will surely notice. The city’s defenses will definitely be even more strict during the day. Everyone must not be careless. We need to carefully plan before we can bring more common people here.”
The Xiao family soldiers thus calmed down, and the group sat in a circle. Luo Yuan drew the city’s terrain on the ground from memory, explaining the subsequent battle plans to the soldiers. Yuanxi searched around for some dry grass to spread on the ground as temporary soft bedding for everyone, and only then did she have time to take out the dried rations she carried and take a few bites.
After Luo Yuan finished explaining his plan to the soldiers, he let them rest temporarily to prepare for the coming hard battle. He turned to see Yuanxi slowly chewing her dried rations, so he walked to her side and handed over his water pouch, saying: “Madam shouldn’t have come at all. It’s too dangerous here, and too hardship…”
Yuanxi looked up and took a sip of water, pointing at the soldiers who had already collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, saying: “Compared to them, what hardship do I count for?” She turned to look at Luo Yuan and said: “Little Master, you once taught me ‘Care only for the weak and frail, righteousness should never be lacking.’ Only today, after entering the city, do I truly understand the meaning of these words. Since I became the wife of Marquis Xuanyuan, I have a responsibility to protect them. I think even if he knew, he would definitely approve of what I’m doing.”
Luo Yuan looked at the stubbornness between her brows and suddenly curved his lips, pointing at her cheek and saying: “Madam of Marquis Xuanyuan, your face is dirty.” Yuanxi somewhat bashfully wiped her cheek with her sleeve. Only in this moment did she seem to return to that once naive and innocent little girl. Luo Yuan silently recorded this scene in his heart, then stood up and said to the others: “If you’ve rested enough, let’s set out. Before dawn breaks, we should save as many as we can.”
At the hour of the corner, in the Prefecture Governor’s mansion, Ashina Heli was roaring furiously: “Useless waste! Dozens of people died in one night, and you still can’t find out where the assassins came from!” The school captain kneeling below trembled with fear, constantly kowtowing and promising to catch the culprits before finally managing to save his life. At this time, Dianyun leisurely put down his tea cup and said: “Why should the Great King worry so much? If those were regular troops, they would have attacked long ago. They must just be some minor soldiers who can’t accomplish anything. Why fear them?”
But Ashina Heli still frowned tightly, saying: “Second Prince doesn’t understand – the Central Plains people are full of cunning schemes. I always worry whether we’ve fallen into some trap this time. In any case, as long as Xiao Du doesn’t show himself, I won’t have peace. And that Zou Wu – do you think he’s really trustworthy?”
Dianyun sneered: “The Great King worries too much. If you don’t trust him, just kill him with one stroke. As for Xiao Du, even if he has divine abilities, with only thirty thousand men in his hands, how can he break through the pass walls guarded by our hundred thousand plus troops? As long as Pingdu Pass is in our hands, he’s cut off from supplies outside the city – just a trapped beast. Sooner or later, we’ll eliminate him.”
Ashina Heli lowered his head in thought, then called in a deputy general and ordered: “Send a team to thoroughly scout what exactly Xiao Du and his men are doing. Don’t miss a single detail in your report!”
But what he never imagined was that right under his nose, a team of ghost-like soldiers was moving through the city, continuously ambushing Black Cavalry soldiers and rescuing common people from under their blades. More and more civilians gathered in the cellar, keeping Yuanxi so busy her feet barely touched the ground. At this time, Luo Yuan found her with an excited expression, saying: “I just heard several Black Cavalry soldiers discussing – the Marquis and his men have already reached outside Pingdu Pass. I’m sure he has a way to attack inside.”
Yuanxi was overjoyed, desperately holding back the urge to cry: You finally came after all. I knew you would definitely return! Luo Yuan continued: “Although I don’t know what the Marquis plans to do, if he wants to retake Pingdu Pass, the first thing he needs to do is lure these barbarians out. I think if we can create some chaos among the Black Cavalry and make their leaders suspicious, it should help the Marquis.” He turned to look at the civilians crowding the cellar and called out loudly: “Does anyone know where the barbarians store their grain?”
“I know,” came a timid voice in response. Luo Yuan turned around delightedly and found that little boy Zhuzi had finally spoken, stammering: “My father… mother… saw them transporting grain… they died…”
—
Outside Pingdu Pass, Xiao Du finally met with the secret agent sent from Qingzhou City. Learning that Zheng Long and his men had led sixty thousand troops in a successful withdrawal from Pingdu Pass, and that Yuanxi and the others had all been safely escorted to Qingzhou, he breathed a great sigh of relief. He walked out of the command tent with his hands behind his back, gazing at the smoke billowing from Pingdu Pass, his brows taking on a proud expression as he said: “Using their own methods against them – now it’s time for us to collect our debt.”