Along the way, Goguryeo cavalry continuously appeared. Clearly having no killing power whatsoever, they still followed along to their deaths. The ox-crossbows mounted on carts were always in firing state. As long as those Goguryeo cavalry ran out to demonstrate their horsemanship, they would be shot flying by the ox-crossbows. Since Mr. Wu She had taken a liking to this hunting method, those roving cavalry would become prey as soon as they appeared within range. During this period, that eagle-shooting archer disappeared without a trace. Everyone knew Wu She was doing this to attract that eagle-shooting archer’s attention and reduce the pressure on their side.
For some people, grateful words need not be said—saying too much actually makes people annoyed. Wu She and Liu Fang were both old men who had become spirits. Human relations and worldly wisdom were worthless in their eyes. Perhaps only feelings emanating from the heart would be accepted by them. The more hypocritical someone was, the more disgusting they appeared to them, because this was insulting their intelligence.
The closer they got to the royal capital, the stronger the resistance they encountered. Even some Goguryeo farmers began to become restless. After a ten-man squad that entered a village to investigate the situation disappeared in the village, Yun Ye questioned the villagers, but they all kept their mouths shut and said nothing. Only after soldiers found ten corpses stripped completely naked in the pigpen did the village elder begin to kneel and beg for mercy.
Yun Ye couldn’t understand their thinking at all. Clearly knowing the great army was outside, they still dared to slaughter the soldiers who entered the village. Did they think that as long as they knelt and begged for mercy, the great army would spare them?
The twenty-some people whose names were called out by the village chief looked ashen-faced. There was also a crowd of women and children chasing after and cursing and beating the village chief, as if as long as the village chief didn’t reveal their family members, they would be safe? A joke—did no one think about the fact that they were facing a group of killing machines?
Yun Ye didn’t say a word and rode away. At the same time, Lai Chuanfeng’s saber had already been unsheathed.
Miserable wailing sounds came from behind. The sound of steel blades chopping into bones drilled into his brain like drills. Yun Ye tried hard to focus on that tuft of white hair on Wang Cai’s forehead. Was it forty-three strands or forty-four strands? Earlier the wind got in his eyes and he didn’t count clearly. Now he needed to count again…
Each time they made camp, Wu She placed himself outside the camp. He sat alone on a box cart with an ox-crossbow installed on the cart that could rotate three hundred sixty degrees. The up and down elevation angle was also ample. These past days he had shot and killed countless Goguryeo roving cavalry. Adding to that today’s massacre of the village by Lai Chuanfeng and the others, presumably this eagle-shooting archer must be extremely angry.
Anger always makes a person lose some reason. When a very calm eagle-shooting archer’s heart is filled with rage, the hand controlling the bowstring will inevitably tremble somewhat. As long as he was even slightly slower, he would be killed by Wu She under the ox-crossbow. The farthest shooting distance of a five-stone bow was precisely the ox-crossbow’s unmatched range. You would only hear the bowstring sound, but by that time, the thick siege chisel would have already pierced through your body.
Wu She leisurely sat on the cart drinking tea. On his cart wall hung a long string of human ears. This was his battle record from these days—one ear represented one human life.
The fragrant grass of Liaodong grew lush. The white reed stalks above would make whimpering sounds when blown by the wind. If you lowered your head, you would discover some faint traces of green in the reeds. In just two more days, this green would grow vigorously, striving to complete the entire life process of heading, leafing, jointing, flowering, and seeding in the shortest time.
In the distance, some unknown family’s child had set fire to the reeds. The wall of fire, borrowing the wind’s momentum, rapidly rushed toward Wu She. Facing that fire wall, Wu She seemed not to see it at all, still leisurely drinking the tea in his hand. He had been drinking this cup of tea for nearly an hour—there was no water in the cup, only wind.
Amid the crackling and popping sounds of reeds bursting, a crisp bowstring sound rang out. Wu She tilted his head slightly. A thick arrow whistled past his ear, taking away a lock of white hair by his ear.
Wu She’s hands had just touched the trigger mechanism when it exploded. Without the trigger mechanism, the ox-crossbow was completely useless. Behind the flames, a man in all black stood up. A huge bow had already been drawn to half-string, with three arrows clearly nocked on it. His face already showed a smile because his opponent was definitely dead—no one had ever escaped his one-shot-three-arrows technique.
The arrows flew out. Only then did he see that a thin board had somehow risen before that white-haired old man. He didn’t believe this thin board could block his heavy arrows.
The Yun family always had some strange and peculiar things. For instance, this iron plate before him—this was the lining board from Yun Ye’s cart. They had tested it before. The effect wasn’t fully determined, but in any case, the ox-crossbow could only leave a small dent on its surface.
Although the five-stone hard bow was already an unparalleled weapon, it could in no way compare with the mechanical force of the ox-crossbow. The three arrows only bounced a few times on the iron plate before falling powerlessly to the ground. The eagle-shooting archer, across the flames, saw that white-haired old man’s face full of mockery.
The flames gradually extinguished not far in front of that old man, because after standing up he discovered a large patch of grass was missing there—the flames couldn’t burn there.
The eagle-shooting archer still had eight arrows in his quiver. His limit for controlling the five-stone hard bow was thirteen arrows. After he finished shooting thirteen arrows, his arms would need a full two months of rest before having the strength to draw this bow again. Now he stood in the ashes unable to move at all. Behind the old man, four more ox-crossbows slowly rose. As long as he moved, twelve siege chisels would immediately tear him into a pile of shredded meat.
On the battlefield, those who fought desperately were generally common soldiers, because they knew they had no value—falling into enemy hands would only result in execution. Generals didn’t think this way. As long as the timing was right, they always had a time to return, either through exchange or release. Many times, leaders of both enemy sides fought to the death on the battlefield, but after leaving the battlefield, becoming sworn friends was not strange at all. They called this distinguishing between public and private—who knows what the spirits of those dead soldiers would think when seeing them drinking and exchanging pleasantries.
The eagle-shooting archer threw down the hard bow in his hand. Immediately soldiers came forward and bound him with a kind of fine silk thread. He tested it and discovered he could not break free from these silk threads no matter what.
Great Tang scouts galloped back and forth on the grass mat, trampling almost everywhere, before finally quieting down. Yun Ye walked over with his injured household guard. After just sizing him up twice, he heard the eagle-shooting archer say, “I am a Goguryeo eagle-shooting archer. My name is Heichi Chang. With your Yingzhou Governor and Protector of the Eastern Barbarians Colonel Zhang Jian, I can also be considered close friends. If you send me to Zhang Jian, you will definitely receive his reward.”
“Zhang Jian? He has history with you? A Great Tang official and a Goguryeo noble—you actually have close relations between you. In that case, I must write a letter asking Zhang Jian why he would call a Goguryeo person brother.”
“What kind of talk is this? Although we don’t belong to the same country, does this prevent us from becoming friends? Don’t you have a single friend of a different race?”
“Yes. One became my concubine and bears children for me. There’s also one called Yuan Gae Suwen. However, I snatched his wife away and threw him into the sea. That’s roughly it. You crippled one arm of my household guard, so you’ll repay it with one of your arms.”
Yun Ye could be considered as learning from experience. The matter with Gae Suwen made him regret endlessly. He decided not to make the same mistake with this Heichi Chang. He called over Liu Jinbao and prepared to have him take a blade and chop off one of this fellow’s arms to compensate his guard. Yun Ye had no intention of letting such a loyally devoted good household guard suffer loss.
“How can a household guard’s arm compare with one of my limbs? I am an eagle-shooting archer. Even your Emperor would only recruit me and would absolutely never lay such a poisonous hand. You taking my arm is wasting heaven’s resources. These arms are rarely seen even among a million people. Your Great Tang doesn’t have a single person worthy of being called an eagle-shooting archer. How can you do this? As long as you offer me to the Emperor, the Emperor will surely reward you heavily. Don’t you know what it means for a country to have an eagle-shooting archer?” Heichi Chang continuously retreated backward, wanting to distance himself from Liu Jinbao, because Liu Jinbao was already selecting where to place the blade. Lai Chuanfeng opened his mouth several times but in the end said nothing.
After sighing, Liu Fang said to Yun Ye, “Heichi Chang indeed hasn’t spoken wrongly. An eagle-shooting archer is a type of honor. No matter which country obtains one, morale will be greatly boosted. You must know that every year there are skill competitions between countries. Archery and horsemanship have always been of paramount importance. Having such a person will guarantee Great Tang’s victory in competitions. Such a person is truly a once-in-a-generation talent. Killing him is inauspicious.”
“I’m not planning to kill him. I only want one of his arms. He crippled my household guard’s arm, so he should compensate with one limb. This is perfectly justified. Whatever eagle-shooting archer, even a dragon-shooting archer must compensate my family with one arm today. Just because he has a pair of good arms means he can kill without repaying with his life? You all like this arm—you can completely take it after I chop it off, pickle it in salt, and preserve it long-term as a memento. Whoever dares advise me again will be dealt with by military law! Liu Jinbao, what the hell are you waiting for?”
Yun Ye saw that those generals in the army one by one all wanted to plead for him, so with one sentence he cut off their thoughts completely.
Hearing Yun Ye speak so resolutely, the generals could only lower their heads regretfully, unable to bear watching such a precious arm in this world being chopped off.
Liu Jinbao didn’t care about any of that. The Marquis said to chop, so even the King of Heaven’s arm would be chopped. He kicked Heichi Chang down, planted one foot on Heichi Chang’s neck, and the saber in his hand slanted up diagonally. Heichi Chang let out a heart-rending howl and immediately fainted.
Liu Jinbao removed that arm and conveniently also untied the silk thread, preparing to wash it clean before returning it to the Marquis.
Yun Ye held that arm and presented it before the injured household guard, smiling and saying, “Look, brother, your revenge—the Marquis has avenged it for you!”