West of the city.
Tonight was the second night Ni Chiwen's cavalry had been camped outside the city. It had not been long, but he was exceptionally anxious. Because after the next day, their logistical supplies would be completely exhausted.
During their rapid march, he had assumed they could enter the city immediately, so he had only brought a day and a half's worth of dry rations. Now, the food was gone, and they could not enter Xiagu. He was caught in a dilemma.
Ni Chiwen had no choice but to consider leading his army back.
He had to go back; they were out of food.
But that was a matter for tomorrow. Tonight, he would at least get a good night's sleep.
In the middle of the night, Ni Chiwen, who was sleeping directly on the ground, was jolted awake. He was using his saddle as a pillow and his cloak as a blanket, making do as best as he could.
Precisely because he was sleeping on his side with his head resting on the saddle, Ni Chiwen, a rather light sleeper, was awakened in the middle of the night by a rumbling sound coming from beneath his ear.
At first, he thought it was thunder, assuming the summer sky was about to rain, but after he rolled over and lay flat on his back, the rumbling disappeared.
Oh, it was not thunder.
Closing his eyes and just about to fall back asleep, Ni Chiwen suddenly felt as if his temple had been struck by a heavy hammer. His mind reeled, and in a massive wave of horror, he sprang up into a sitting position.
He quickly pressed himself back to the ground, listening closely with his ear.
There was indeed a rumbling sound, like ten thousand horses galloping together. But just by listening, he could not tell if it was coming from the east or the west.
Ni Chiwen woke up Li Huairen and asked him, "Besides us, did the Third Young Master notify any other allies to join the campaign against the North?"
"What other allies? No..." Li Huairen replied groggily.
Ni Chiwen gasped, then hurriedly roared at the top of his lungs, "Everyone up! Enemy attack!"
His voice rang like a massive bell, jolting a group of soldiers awake.
The soldiers, roused from their slumber, shuddered in unison.
What? Where is the enemy attack?
Did they not say the northern reinforcements would not arrive for at least another ten days?!
One by one, they sat up, but all the movements around them were from their own people. Looking out into the vast, hazy night, there was clearly no firelight.
Enemy attack? It must be a mistake.
With their nerves tensing and then relaxing, many began to yawn incessantly. Some, seeing that everything was peaceful, even fell straight back down to sleep.
Ni Chiwen flew into a rage. "Whoever dares to go back to sleep will be dealt with by military law!"
The soldiers opened their eyes again, but Ni Chiwen did not need to say anything more, because they all heard the commotion.
A muffled sound came from the east, rolling in like crashing waves, its momentum growing increasingly terrifying as it drew nearer.
This time, without Ni Chiwen having to repeat himself, the Sizhou soldiers were all struck with terror.
There really was an enemy attack!
The Black Valiant Cavalry was equipped with the best horses from the North. Especially after Qin Shaozong conquered the Northern Kingdom, all the fine-breed horses there had fallen into his hands. The absolute best of the best, carefully handpicked, were now all with the Black Valiant Cavalry.
As for the Sizhou side, they had all previously assumed the northern reinforcements would not arrive for at least a few days. Well then, since that was the case, they were not in combat readiness.
To sleep more comfortably, everyone had taken off their saddles to use as pillows.
Taking them off was easy, and sleeping on them was relatively comfortable. But now, the surrounding light was dim, with only a few fire braziers placed on the periphery to ward off wild beasts. Quickly putting the saddles back on was no easy task.
Just finding their horses and seeing the buckles was a massive undertaking.
Since they had already been exposed, Qin Shaozong simply roared, "Follow me and kill!"
Under the dark night, this black-armored cavalry seemed to transform into a pack of wolves. The strong, ferocious wolves charged into the flock of lambs, frantically tearing at their prey with fangs and claws.
Screams rose and fell in succession. Bright red blood splattered, spilling onto the ground and seeping into the soil, dyeing it a macabre hue.
Heads rolled, their faces frozen in expressions of wide-eyed terror.
Ni Chiwen was frantic, organizing a counterattack while simultaneously searching for the enemy commander.
The wind picked up in the night, blowing apart the continuous dark clouds and revealing the full moon.
Bright moonlight descended upon the world once more. Across a distance, Ni Chiwen spotted a man not far away, a red cape billowing behind him.
The man had a towering, imposing figure and rode an exceptionally robust jujube-red horse. As the moonlight cascaded down, his helmet, adorned with golden Taotie patterns, cast a small shadow over his face.
Ni Chiwen could only vaguely make out the man's sharply contoured profile: prominent brow ridges, a straight nose, and a sharp, smooth jawline that resembled an unsheathed blade.
Suddenly, the man in the distance looked over.
Those brown eyes seemed tinged with the eerie green of a ferocious wolf. In the next instant, Ni Chiwen saw the corner of the man's lips curl up.
After Qin Shaozong led his troops charging into the enemy camp, he had been searching for the Sizhou general the entire time.
To catch bandits, first catch the ringleader. What was the point of killing the underlings? He had to take out the leader first.
Initially, Qin Shaozong thought he would have to search for quite a while. After all, the lighting was not bright, and they did not have military tents, so he could only look slowly.
As it turned out, the moon came out, and someone not far away was staring right at him, with a red cape lying at his feet.
Qin Shaozong curled his thin lips. "Heaven is helping me!"
The Chijiao horse shared a telepathic connection with its master. Rearing its hooves, it kicked away a Sizhou soldier blocking the path and charged straight toward Ni Chiwen.
Qin Shaozong raised his long spear and delivered a strike.
The silver spear clashed with the broadsword. One man was mounted on horseback, wielding a silver spear from a commanding height; the other stood on the ground, gripping a broadsword with both hands.
Ni Chiwen's arms went numb from the impact, but before he could even catch his breath, the second strike arrived. Although the silver spear only had the spearhead as its point of attack, an inch longer meant an inch stronger. Right now, he was completely being beaten one-sidedly.
As Qin Shaozong advanced, the gleaming spearhead was like a snake bearing venomous fangs, swift and agile, making Ni Chiwen's heart tremble incessantly.
One advanced, one retreated. In the blink of an eye, Ni Chiwen's back hit a tree trunk.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
Ni Chiwen thought to himself that this was bad, just as he saw the red-tasseled spearhead striking again. With no room to retreat, he could only grip the hilt with one hand, hold the long blade horizontally, and support the back of the blade with his other hand to block.
Clang!
The spearhead struck the flat of the blade. The point that received the immense force began to crack, and the fractures rapidly spread across the entire blade.
Crack. Something shattered.
Ni Chiwen's pupils suddenly widened. His gaze, which had been fixed straight at the man in front of him, shifted down slightly, landing on the silver spear that was now connected to his throat bone.
A trail of bright red trickled from the corner of his mouth. He opened his mouth but could not make a single sound. He could only watch helplessly as the man in front of him pulled his arm back, taking the silver spear that had pierced his throat along with it.
Qin Shaozong coldly watched Ni Chiwen fall to the ground. Drawing the ring-pommel sword at his side, he cleanly severed his head. Then, he picked it up from the bottom with his silver spear and hoisted it high. "Your leader is dead! Those who surrender will be spared!"
Under the moonlight, Ni Chiwen's hoisted head caught the eyes of many.
Everything around them came to a standstill. Suddenly, with a few clangs, someone dropped their weapon first.
More and more people surrendered. Qin Shaozong ordered his men to light fires for illumination.
Soon, the firelight flared up, casting its glow on the black-armored northern soldiers. Each of them was bathed in blood, like ferocious wolves baring their bloodstained fangs.
The night raid was a blitzkrieg; it came fast and ended fast. After a tally, only four out of ten Sizhou soldiers remained. Their horses had scattered in fright, so a good number of those were left behind.
Qin Shaozong confiscated all the weapons and horses of the surrendered soldiers, then singled out the commander of the Southern Garrison. "Bai Jianping, lead three hundred men to escort these captives back to the city first. Afterward, lead your troops out of the city and head west along the official road of Sizhou."
Bai Jianping's heart gave a jolt.
Head west, along the official road of Sizhou?
Did the Marquis intend to swallow the reinforcements trailing behind Sizhou in one fell swoop?
Qin Shaozong reorganized his troops and marched west without a moment's pause. He indeed planned to strike while the iron was hot and devour the rest of the Sizhou army behind them.
This cavalry unit had not even set up camp, meaning they must have force-marched to the western suburbs. Behind such a vanguard, there was bound to be an infantry battalion dragging along supplies.
A victorious battle had thoroughly ignited the soldiers' blood. Why not ride the momentum and take down the forces behind them?
The Black Valiant Cavalry swiftly split into two, with the main force following Qin Shaozong westward. He did not know exactly how far away the Sizhou infantry was, but since the Sizhou cavalry had already arrived at the western suburbs two days prior, they couldn't be far.
Indeed, they were not far. After just a two-hour rapid march, as the sky grew faintly bright, Qin Shaozong spotted the encampment in the distance.
Tents were pitched one after another. To Qin Shaozong, they looked somewhat like the meat buns his wife had invented. Thin skin and generous filling—just a light slash, and one could taste the savory meat inside.
The man curled his lips into a smile, his eyes filled with sheer excitement.
...
By the time Bai Jianping escorted the captives back to the city and hurried over with his three hundred men, the battle was surprisingly already over.
Broken halberds were planted at an angle in the ground, and longbows lay with snapped strings. Some military tents had collapsed, their surfaces splattered with streaks of blood. The ground was a mess; the wooden frames originally used to hold fire basins were scattered in pieces, having long lost their original shape.
There was no need to even mention the sheer number of corpses; this entire stretch of land had changed color. Meanwhile, the granary area, previously managed by the Sizhou army's cooks, had now changed hands.
Qin Shaozong did not burn the granary. Instead, seeing that the situation was dire, the Sizhou side had attempted to set it on fire so the enemy wouldn't benefit, but unfortunately for them, they were stopped midway.
Seeing Bai Jianping arrive, a soldier hurriedly came forward. "Garrison Commander Bai, we roughly estimate the enemy had about three thousand men. This time, our army killed over half of them, and we captured more than two hundred heads of cattle and sheep, as well as three hundred shi of grain..."
Bai Jianping found it strange. Why report these things to him? "Where is the Marquis?"
"The Marquis took a squad and headed south. He said he was going to pick up Madam Dai, and left everything here entirely in your hands," the soldier replied.
Bai Jianping was stunned and blurted out, "The Marquis left that quickly?"
He had just devoured the Sizhou infantry—before even fully swallowing them, he had hurried off to another place.
Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou left the small mountain village at the break of dawn, continuing their journey south.
Mo Yanyun was still following them, but just as they left the village, he realized his horse... had a problem.
His horse was suffering from severe diarrhea, to the point of exhaustion. Its legs grew weak, and it walked slower and slower.
At first, Mo Yanyun tried to turn the tide, but his efforts ended in failure. His horse eventually collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Watching the single horse ahead rapidly pull away from him, Mo Yanyun broke into a panicked sweat. "Hey, how can you not play by the rules of martial virtue!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong.
He had secretly tipped off the Marquis, which wasn't exactly keeping his word either. Wait, they tampered with his horse—could it be that they had discovered his little tricks?
"Madam Dai, please wait!" Mo Yanyun roared.
The two people ahead turned a deaf ear. Their horse trotted further and further away, and in just a moment, it was nothing but a small silhouette.
Mo Yanyun felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his heart turning to ashes. "It's over, it's over, I'm going to lose them again..."
It was different from last time. Last time, they were not far from the city, and he could just walk back. But this place was a whole day's journey from Xiagu. By the time he endured untold hardships to get back to the city, those two would have long disappeared without a trace.
So Madam Dai did it on purpose, right? She specifically chose to make her move in this barren wilderness.
Oh, well, it wasn't exactly a barren wilderness. At least there was a village behind him; she had at least left him an out.
Since the horse couldn't be ridden anytime soon, Mo Yanyun scratched his head in frustration and finally decided to walk back to the village to borrow a donkey.
Madam Dai and the young gentleman were sharing a single horse. Even if it was a fine steed, its speed wouldn't be as fast as a solo rider. If he borrowed a donkey to chase after them, though he certainly wouldn't catch up, at least he wouldn't be left stranded in place.
The idea was beautiful, but when Mo Yanyun returned to the village, he discovered...
No one would lend him a donkey.
To the villagers, he was a stranger. How could they easily lend him such an important piece of property as a donkey?
As for buying a donkey, he didn't have enough money, making it impossible to purchase one.
Mo Yanyun broke down. He trudged heavily back to the sick horse. Recalling the herbs Mr. Ding had given him when he was ill before, he muttered to himself, "I'll just treat a dead horse as a living one. Otherwise, there's nothing else I can do."
He opened his eyes wide and searched through the surrounding grass.
Believe it or not, he actually found a familiar-looking plant. He immediately fed it to the horse and then used his waterskin to pour water down its throat.
Mo Yanyun waited and waited. Two hours passed, then four hours passed...
After the golden sun reached its zenith, it slowly began to slant toward the west.
Just as Mo Yanyun was on the verge of despair, his horse—whether it had recovered from eating the herbs or simply pulled through on its own—finally regained some vigor.
Mo Yanyun quickly mounted the horse and continued his pursuit south along the official road.
Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou had already traveled quite a distance. It was now early afternoon. If nothing unexpected happened, they would cross the border of Sizhou and enter Nanyang County in four hours.
As long as they entered Yuzhou, it would be absolutely impossible for Qin Shaozong to brazenly send troops to search for them.
Summer weather was like a child's face, changing at the drop of a hat. Just moments ago, the bright sun had been hanging high in the sky, but now a thick, heavy dark cloud suddenly drifted over. It looked like it was going to rain.
Dai Li looked up at the sky, only to unexpectedly spot a bird circling overhead.
Its feathers were white with a touch of brown. Though it was far away, Dai Li estimated that the bird's wingspan was over half a meter.
Over half a meter was considered a medium size in the avian world.
Dai Li kept her head tilted upward for quite a while, prompting Qin Yanzhou to look up as well.
"Zhou Zhou, is it just my imagination, or has it been hovering right above us this whole time?" Dai Li murmured.
Birds were much faster than horses. Unless there was food, birds of prey generally wouldn't circle in the same spot. This bird was incredibly strange.
Qin Yanzhou watched it for a long time. "That looks like a Haidongqing."
At these words, Dai Li's face paled. "A Haidongqing? Zhou Zhou, are you sure?"
Qin Yanzhou said yes.
"This is a bird of prey only found in the northeastern regions. We're about to enter Yuzhou territory; logically, it shouldn't be here. Has Qin Shaozong caught up to us, or is it a gyrfalcon raised by the people of the Green Lotus Cult?" Dai Li said nervously.
Before Qin Yanzhou could answer, a faint memory surfaced in Dai Li's mind. "I think I've seen it before. This is the gyrfalcon raised by Qin Shaozong!"
What else was there to misunderstand? Mo Yanyun must have brought this Haidongqing along with him.
"Zhou Zhou, it seems we'll have to brave the rain and press on," Dai Li said gravely.
Heavy rain would weigh down a bird of prey, and rarely would any avian brave such a downpour. They had to make their escape now, while the gyrfalcon was grounded.
Once they reached the city and melted into the crowd, the bird would definitely lose their trail.
Qin Yanzhou lowered his voice to comfort her, "Mother, please do not worry. From what I have gathered, the Sizhou infantry, equipped with battering rams and scaling ladders, is set to arrive at Xiagu today. The Marquis of Wu'an has so few men at his disposal that he will surely be overwhelmed; he will have no energy to spare for anything else. We have already shaken off Mo Yanyun. Once we are inside the city walls, we will be able to lose this gyrfalcon overhead as well."
Dai Li murmured her agreement.
Her son's reasoning was sound. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the lingering unease in her heart only grew heavier, as though something terrible was about to happen...