Dai Li was no stranger to mountain climbing, but climbing a wild mountain in the dead of night was a first for her.
There were no steps, no signs, no proper climbing gear, and certainly no cable cars.
Everything was terrifyingly primitive.
Their small party, holding sparse torches, snaked a faint line of orange-red light. The firelight fell at their feet, illuminating dead leaves, vines, and some nocturnal insects.
Mo Yanyun walked ahead of Dai Li, with Qin Shaozong behind her. Several times, Dai Li's foot failed to find solid ground, and she slid down with a rustle, only to be caught squarely by Qin Shaozong, who steadied her by the waist before setting her back on her feet.
Halfway up the mountain path, Dai Li was genuinely tired. She was about to ask Mo Yanyun ahead how much longer it would take when a voice came from the front: "Lord Marquis, the marked point is here."
Dai Li couldn't fathom what they were up to, until she saw a cave.
The cave was about half a person's height, resembling the den of a wolf or some other carnivore. Vines hung straight down over the entrance. Unless one knew it was there beforehand, it would be nearly invisible even in daylight, let alone by torchlight.
"Keep only one torch inside the cave. Extinguish all the others," Qin Shaozong ordered.
With a few swift whooshes, the slender fire dragon writhed among the trees and was swallowed by the night. As the dragon vanished, only a nearly imperceptible sliver of light remained before them. Dai Li's face paled slightly.
Climbing a wild mountain at night, and he dared to extinguish the torches.
This era was not like later times, where human footprints covered the land and most beasts were confined to zoos. Here... they roamed the mountains freely, searching for food.
Remembering how bears fed, a wave of palpitations washed over Dai Li.
"Madam, stay still for now," the man behind her said.
Dai Li didn't move, not entirely because she was obeying him, but partly because her own imagination had frightened her.
There was a steep slope in front of the cave. Qin Shaozong took a long stride, found a foothold, and easily ascended one level. He turned and looked down at Dai Li. "Your hand."
Dai Li was a beat slow in offering her hand to him.
His rough, large palm enveloped hers. In the cool spring night, he was excessively warm, as if he had hidden the vanished fire dragon within his grasp.
In just a dazed moment, Dai Li found herself effortlessly atop the steep slope.
Mo Yanyun pushed aside the vines covering the cave entrance, allowing Qin Shaozong and Dai Li to enter. As the heavy curtain of vegetation lifted and fell, firelight spilled out, only to vanish again instantly.
Once inside the cave, Dai Li realized it was shaped like a sideways funnel, much larger than she had imagined. However, judging by the not-too-strong odor inside and the dense covering of grass and leaves on the ground, this cave had been abandoned for quite some time.
"Stay here. Don't run off. I'll return shortly," Qin Shaozong said, pressing a dagger into Dai Li's hands.
Dai Li looked down at the dagger in her hand and murmured, "I don't know the way. Where could I possibly run to?"
Qin Shaozong laughed in exasperation.
Just listen to what she was saying. She wouldn't run because she didn't know the way. If she did know the way, that would be a different story entirely.
But now was not the time to dwell on it. He would settle this score with her later, along with the previous ones.
Qin Shaozong left one of his personal guards behind and departed with the others.
Dai Li didn't know what he intended to do. He said he would return shortly, so she could only wait. She found a corner, sat down with her back against the wall, hugged her knees, and placed the dagger beside her.
The sole remaining torch was placed in an L-shaped nook. From here, the cave entrance was out of sight, further weakening the firelight.
As for the personal guard left behind, he sat behind the thick curtain of vines at the cave entrance, his eyes keenly observing the outside through tiny gaps.
Having settled Dai Li on the mountainside, Qin Shaozong led the rest of his men upward at an accelerated pace.
Choosing to climb this mountain was not because they were fleeing helter-skelter from Li Zan's pursuing troops. Rather, a bandit stronghold was located a little further up and to the side.
A band of brigands had recently arrived at Zhuya Ford. These bandits, forced northward, had not been here long and likely weren't yet intimately familiar with the surrounding terrain. They probably hadn't even fully established their lair.
Such bandits were the easiest to eradicate.
After wiping out the mountain stronghold and crossing over this mountain, they would be able to see the Qi River. The bandits on the mountain had robbed a lou-chuan (towered ship) some days ago; it was reasonable to assume they had kept at least one for themselves.
Then, they could advance, using the terrain to ambush Li Zan's pursuing troops, or retreat, escaping on the lou-chuan.
As for Li Zan's pursuers, Qin Shaozong wasn't worried they would cling to them like hyenas catching the scent of blood.
Recently, fearful of the bandits' brutality, the common folk had unanimously avoided this area, with very few entering or exiting through the southern city gate. The roads branching south from Taiping County were numerous. He had ordered his soldiers to ride horses along them daily during daylight, ensuring fresh hoofprints marked every path.
Just figuring out which route he had taken would be a headache for the pursuers, let alone on a dark and windy night like this, when light was at its dimmest.
After scaling an extremely treacherous section, the soldiers formed a horizontal line. Upon hearing Qin Shaozong's bird-call whistle, they all scrambled upward like lightning.
...
"Big Brother, did you hear something strange just now?" Li Wu opened his eyes, looking around.
Li Si lazily yawned. "What strange noise could there be in the middle of the night? Probably just some animal up the mountain getting hungry and having a midnight snack. Relax, the boss already checked. This mountain has no tigers or blind bears. Wolves seem rare too. The sound you heard was probably just a little wildcat. What's there to panic about?"
Li Wu muttered, "Is that so? But I can't shake this uneasy feeling. It's exactly like that time we nearly lost our lives at Misty Cliff."
Li Si was utterly unconcerned. Governor Deng of Taiping County was a pushover, and they had been living quite comfortably these past few days, hardly even bothering with night watches. "Little Brother, instead of worrying about this and that, you'd be better off thinking about how to snatch a few pretty women. This fort is sorely lacking in women, it's just not..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a spray of blood suddenly blossomed from Li Si's throat. Looking closely, an arrow had pierced straight through his windpipe.
Li Si's eyes instantly widened like bells, the whites filling with blood. Without uttering a sound, he toppled straight backward.
"Big Brother!" Li Wu was both shocked and furious.
He was about to grab the bronze whistle at his waist when, from the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of cold light flying toward him. Alarm bells screamed in Li Wu's mind. Forgetting the whistle, he hurriedly raised his blade to block.
Clang!
The first clash of weapons rang out clear and sharp.
But soon, as both sides exerted force in their deadly contest, an ear-piercing screech sounded. It was the mournful cry of Li Wu's aged, worn-out blade.
His opponent's blade was clearly superior.
Knowing escape was impossible, Li Wu glanced at his fallen, motionless brother. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. Abruptly, he stopped gripping his sword with both hands and instead freed one to grab the bronze whistle at his waist.
Just as the blade sank into his flesh, an earsplitting shriek erupted from the bronze whistle.
Qin Shaozong heard the whistle and said impatiently, "Can't even handle a trivial matter like this. Was all the good meat and wine I fed you just thrown down the drain? You're going back to extra training. Move faster; Li Zan's lot will be following the sound soon."
Inside the fortress.
Meng Dahong, who was sleeping soundly, was jolted awake by his subordinates.
"Chief, someone is attacking the fortress!"
Meng Dahong gave a start, his sleepiness instantly replaced by a surge of rage. "I just sent Deng Tuo a heavy gift two days ago, and today he sends people to raid my nest? That damn Deng Tuo!"
"Chief, those people are agile and exceptionally fierce. They don't look like those useless soldiers from Taiping County. Our brothers' gear isn't nearly as good as theirs; we won't last long before suffering heavy casualties. This is no place to linger. Please consider a retreat, Chief," his subordinate urged.
Meng Dahong could not hide his shock. "Has the situation truly become this dire? Then we retreat. As long as the green hills remain, we need not worry about a lack of firewood! We'll retreat through the back mountain and take the boats."
Under the night sky, two riders rode side by side along the mountain path.
"This Qin Shaozong is truly cunning. He left hoofprints on every path, and now we don't even know where to begin the search." The rider holding the torch controlled his horse's speed, careful not to let the wind blow out the flame.
The light could not be too dim, or it would be difficult to see certain tracks on the mountain path. This slowed them down, which was incredibly frustrating.
Suddenly, one of them reined in his horse. "Did you hear something? It sounded like a copper whistle."
The other rider remembered something. "Bandits often use whistles as signals, but they don't usually blow them unless there's a special circumstance. Could it be that Qin Shaozong entered the mountains and ran into bandits?"
"Then it's highly likely we're on the right path. Quick, let's check up ahead."
"...A discovery! So many horses. They actually abandoned their horses to enter the mountains here. We finally found them! Go back and report to the Commander immediately!"
Qin Shaozong flicked his ring-pommel saber, sending a thick arc of blood splattering onto the ground.
Mo Yanyun reported, "My Lord, it has all been cleaned up. A total of seventy-three bandits were killed. There are five treasure chests in the fortress, all filled with gold and silver ornaments."
Qin Shaozong's gaze remained fixed ahead.
Before them were mountains and a lake. Indeed, it was a lake. The Qishui River made a turn here, forming a square-shaped body of water.
Surrounded by mountain peaks on both sides with a wide waterway in the middle, this place was a perfect natural port.
At this moment, blood meandered into small red streams in front of the port, and corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the ground. One man had fallen with his arm stretched forward, his eyes wide as he stared ahead.
He had been just a step away—just a step away from boarding the galley in front of him.
"Beep—Beep—"
Two long whistle blasts suddenly echoed from the mountain.
Qin Shaozong's face darkened. He knew Li Zan's men had found this place and were beginning to ascend the mountain.
"My Lord, I will go and bring Madam Dai up," Mo Yanyun volunteered.
Qin Shaozong sheathed his ring-pommel saber and turned to walk away without looking back. "I'll go get her. You take four men and stay here to handle the retreat."
It wasn't until that tall figure disappeared into the darkness that Mo Yanyun finally exhaled slowly, feeling the invisible pressure that had been surrounding him gradually dissipate.
It seemed the Lord was still fuming. Better to let him go and take his anger out on Li Zan's soldiers.
Dai Li had not dared to sleep. From the moment they entered the mountains, her nerves had been as taut as a bowstring; any rustle in the wind could make them vibrate with fragile tension.
When she heard the copper whistle, it was no exaggeration to say that Dai Li felt it was the herald of death.
Who would use a copper whistle as a signal during a sneak attack?
They must have been discovered by the bandits.
Perhaps the fearful cries in her heart were so loud they felt tangible, for the guard standing at the cave entrance turned around. "Madam Dai, those petty bandits are nothing to fear."
Dai Li pursed her lips and said nothing.
The guard said helplessly, "Years ago, the bandits in the Bore Mountain and Tianze Mountain range were a true plague. It was the Lord himself who led the troops to suppress them. He was invincible, and he built several trophy mounds of enemy corpses. For ten years after that, those two regions never saw banditry again. The bandits in this little ravine aren't even a tenth of what those were. Why should you worry?"
Dai Li knew nothing of Qin Shaozong's past military achievements. Seeing the guard so confident and full of pride, she couldn't help but feel a flicker of relief, though she remained skeptical.
She hoped it was true.
If his side was wiped out, or if they suffered such a heavy blow that they had to cut their losses to survive, she would be left in the mountains with only one guard, likely ending up as food for wild beasts.
The faint sound of fighting drifted over, but it soon returned to silence. She didn't know if the battle had ended or if the distance had increased so much that the sound could no longer reach them.
Time passed slowly until she heard another sound—
The sound of hooves.
A single horse makes a limited sound, but hundreds or even thousands of horses could produce a rumbling roar, as if the earth itself were moaning.
The guard's gaze sharpened, and he quickly slipped out of the cave to investigate.
Perhaps because the night path was difficult to traverse, or perhaps because they were so numerous they had no fear, Li Zan's men had brazenly lit torches. A monstrous fire dragon coiled at the foot of the mountain, waving its four claws as if searching for the perfect angle to strike.
After two long whistle blasts sounded outside, the guard returned and said solemnly, "Madam Dai, the pursuers have caught up. Someone will be here to meet us shortly. Please be sure to stay close to me."
Dai Li nodded heavily, her face pale. she took the torch from the corner and pressed it against the wall.
With a sizzle, the torch went out, and the cave was instantly plunged into darkness.
As the minutes ticked by, Dai Li moved to the cave entrance and watched nervously. She saw the fire dragon on the ground rise, the fiery light spreading upward, and she heard the distant voices becoming clearer.
They were searching the mountain with great fanfare, closing in step by step, yet the person the guard mentioned had not yet arrived.
The hanging vines were suddenly pushed aside, and a tall, dark shadow appeared at the cave entrance. Like an immovable mountain, he loomed over the entrance, which was over half a man's height.
Dai Li's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. In her daze, she thought she saw a pair of eerie green wolf eyes.
Her icy hand was grasped. The palm, which felt scalding to her, made Dai Li realize that it wasn't a giant wolf looking for prey—it was Qin Shaozong who had returned.
Dai Li heard him let out a soft chuckle.
"You're usually bold enough to pierce the heavens, doing all sorts of mischief while hiding under a rabbit's skin, but now you've frozen into a block of ice." Qin Shaozong gave a slight tug and pulled her out of the cave.
Dai Li opened her mouth, but the lingering fear was still stuck in her throat, preventing her from speaking a single word.
"Hu Bao, escort the Madam up the mountain," Qin Shaozong designated a man.
Hu Bao took the order. "Madam Dai, please follow me."
Dai Li followed him for a few paces before coming to a halt. Glancing sideways, she saw the guard who had been in the cave with her trailing behind. Qin Shaozong remained at the cave’s mouth; he had turned around and was now facing the serpentine trail of torches winding up the mountain like a dragon of fire.
Dai Li lowered her eyes and followed Hu Bao in silence.
"Move faster! Don't let Qin Shaozong escape. The Grand Marshal has declared that whoever takes Qin Shaozong’s head will not only be promoted directly to Governor, but will also be rewarded with ten grand estates, hundreds of servants, and a thousand taels of gold!"
"Those two whistles just now came from the northeast. Someone is definitely there. Hurry, move in that direction!"
"The city guards said Qin Shaozong took a female companion with him when he left the city. As long as he refuses to abandon that woman, she will be a burden on this mountain climb. He won't be able to run far."
The fire dragon stretched out in a long, horizontal line, acting like a massive, jagged-toothed sieve slowly filtering through the entire mountain.
Whoosh!
A cold arrow streaked through the air from above, riding the wind to strike a torch-bearing soldier with pinpoint accuracy. The force behind the shot was so immense that the long arrow did more than just pierce its target; it pinned him to the tree trunk behind.
The fletching of the arrow hummed with a vibrating ring, striking terror into the hearts of the searching soldiers.
"He’s over there!" someone was the first to shout.
"Is it Qin Shaozong?"
"Who else could possess such monstrous strength?"
"Qin Shaozong is here!"
The cry spread like a plague. Several more cold arrows whistled down from above, their aim impeccable. Every shot found its mark, and many men fell dead before they could even draw their own arrows to retaliate.
Torches fell to the ground one after another.
It was spring, the season of growth. Combined with the proximity to the Qi River, the soil was damp and the vegetation held high moisture. Many of the dropped torches failed to stay lit.
The fire dragon seemed to have its claws snapped up by a dark, monstrous beast. The severed talons were torn away and dropped to the ground, quickly losing their light. The broken line of fire no longer looked continuous.
"Fire!"
After a moment of preparation, a rain of arrows hissed into the darkness. But the forest, which had just seemed to harbor a giant beast, was now silent. There were no screams, only a terrifying stillness. To Governor Feng Liang, it seemed as if all the demons and ghosts had gone into hiding.
If the enemy hid behind tree trunks for cover or shifted positions stealthily, then firing a volley—or even emptying their quivers—wouldn't graze him in the slightest.
Feng Liang ground his teeth and snarled, "Pass the order! Tell them to extinguish all the torches!"
The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light; the situation was unfavorable. Since they already knew Qin Shaozong’s general location, there was no need to give him the advantage.
The military order swept through the ranks like a wind, snuffing out the flames in the soldiers' hands.
When a person moves from bright light into sudden darkness, their vision goes black for a second or two. Seizing this brief window, Qin Shaozong discarded his longbow, drew a blade the length of a forearm, and plunged into the crowd of men nearby.
He moved with the predatory grace of a tiger, closing in on the nearest soldier from the flank. His blade flashed like lightning across the man's throat—a swift thrust and pull, executed with chilling efficiency.
Blood sprayed in a gruesome arc as the man collapsed. A round object rolled from beneath Qin Shaozong’s feet toward the steep slope.
"He’s here! Support!" someone yelled from behind. At the same time, a saber swung toward him. Qin Shaozong swung his own blade back over his shoulder to block. With a sharp metallic clang, the enemy's blade was held firmly in place.
With a nimble pivot, Qin Shaozong delivered a powerful kick to the man's midsection. The force was so great it sent the soldier flying into a tree. The man spat out blood mixed with internal fragments, his eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness, his fate unknown.
The search line had originally been stretched thin, and gathering the troops in the dark of night would naturally take time.
After Qin Shaozong claimed five heads in quick succession, the area around him fell silent.
The man looked up at a nearby tree, his narrow eyes narrowing further. He sheathed his blade and leaped from a standstill, his long arms catching a high branch. His powerful muscles rippled as he pulled himself up with an effortless pull-up.
In the blink of an eye, the man who had been on the ground had vanished.
A few moments later, several soldiers rushed to the spot. They gasped at the sight of the mangled corpses on the ground.
"The blood hasn't traveled far; he must have just left. Move! Search ahead!"
"Governor Feng said Qin Shaozong was still carrying a woman while he fled. The man certainly knows how to enjoy himself."
"I imagine that woman must be a rare beauty. Once we kill Qin Shaozong, we can take advantage of the chaos and enjoy the Marquis's favorite concubine ourselves. I'll make sure she—"
A dark shadow plummeted from the tree, landing precisely behind the two men. Even as his blade licked across the throat of the man on the left like a venomous snake, his large, calloused hand clamped onto the neck of the one on the right.
Veins bulged on the back of his dark hand—a grip like a tiger's claw—snapping the man's neck with sheer, terrifying brute force.
In an instant, both were dead.
Qin Shaozong had jumped down with his back to the tree, landing behind the group. By the time the others noticed something was wrong and turned around, their pupils reflected only a chilling glint of white light.
Splash...
Blood splattered onto the leaves, pooling along the veins before dripping down. A drop landed right on an eye frozen wide in shock and disbelief.
Qin Shaozong sheathed his blade and grabbed one of the bodies, stripping the soldier of his uniform and red cap to don them himself.
As he prepared to leave, something caught his eye. He looked down coldly at the first two men he had killed. Passing by, he kicked them into a nearby ditch.
"Frogs and toads in a ditch," he muttered, "how dare you covet the bright moon?"