After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 116: Chapter 117: Mad Demon

"While cannibalism isn’t unheard of, he’s the only one who’s proud of it, who revels in it. Half the Rebel Army’s vile reputation comes from his atrocities."

Zhao Qinghe continued where Hee Yue left off. "After Hong Xiangqian was defeated and killed, Lui Yao gathered the remnants of his forces and fled south. They didn’t just ’pass through’ Xianling Village as they claimed. They’re here to rendezvous by Immortal Spirit Lake with two other rebel generals."

"Those two are Right Tent General Wu Shaoyi and General Huisui Pei Xinyong."

Hee Yue asked in alarm, "When is the rendezvous? How many men will there be in total?"

"Around tomorrow afternoon at Double Moon Bay. The three armies combined will have at least four to five thousand men."

’We’re so unlucky,’ Hee Lingchuan thought. ’I’m sure we checked the almanac before leaving home!’

’Was it a fake almanac? Must have been from some shady printer.’

Whether they were official soldiers or rebels, routed armies were often armed but undisciplined. They would burn, kill, and plunder wherever they went, making them more terrifying than mere bandits.

In the coming days, Xianling Village would be swarming with rebel soldiers.

The Hee father and son had initially heard the villagers were just Mountain Bandits in disguise, so they’d looked down on them. After all, bandits rarely dared to fight the authorities. Besides, their own side had superior numbers, elite soldiers, and valiant commanders.

Hee Lingchuan, emboldened by his recent life-or-death experiences, had been feeling quite confident. He’d thought the worst was over. ’What’s a little trouble like this?’

But now they knew: their opponent was a high-ranking rebel commander, the notorious cannibal general!

The man had one thousand four hundred men under his command, with three times that number of rebels arriving tomorrow.

It was like a fisherman trying to catch an eel in the river. He jumps into the water, thrashes around yanking and pulling, even stabs at it a few times with his spear, only to realize he’s not holding an eel, but the very tip of a giant anaconda’s tail!

’Is it too late to back out now?’

Hee Lingchuan saw the expression on his father’s advisor—the man’s face was utterly drained of color.

’What were their chances of success if they tried to escape in the dead of night?’

Hee Lingchuan was sure his father’s fighting spirit had been extinguished as well. It was time to start thinking about an escape plan.

The advisor spoke up. "If we leave the mountain now, we might be able to get away before the rebel reinforcements from Desheng Town arrive."

Zhao Qinghe shook his head. "The fat man confessed. The rebels from Desheng Town are already here. About seven hundred of them are resting at Whistle Rock, which is no more than five li from here!"

Everyone’s faces fell in terror.

Two hundred rebel soldiers plus seven hundred reinforcements—their numbers were already three times that of the Official Army.

The Personal Guard Corps numbered over four hundred, but only a little over three hundred were actual combat-ready soldiers. The rest were women, children, and logistics personnel with virtually no fighting ability. If a battle broke out with the Rebel Army, the Official Army would be stretched thin trying to protect them—a massive disadvantage.

Madam Ying and Zhu Xiu’er knew how dire the situation was. Their faces were as white as paper.

If the Official Army fell, the fate awaiting the women... It would be better to take their own lives.

Hearing these numbers, Hee Chunhua, contrary to expectation, grew calm. "If Lui Yao has every advantage, why hasn’t he attacked? He was ambushed by Vice General Zeng at the lake, but instead of getting angry, he sued for peace with me."

At this prompting, Hee Yue immediately said, "He wants to preserve his strength!"

"Since the rendezvous is tomorrow, even if these rebel leaders wanted to sit down for a friendly chat over tea, they’d still have to establish a pecking order based on strength. Under these circumstances, a clash with our forces would inevitably lead to losses for Lui Yao. He’s afraid that would affect his plans for tomorrow, so he’s forced to compromise."

In other words, both Hee Chunhua’s Official Army and Lui Yao’s Rebel Army were in a delicate position.

Both sides wanted to avoid losses.

Hee Lingchuan glanced at his brother. ’This younger brother of mine is pretty sharp.’

"Then there’s still room to maneuver. It’s not a hopeless situation," said the advisor, Mozhe Jingxuan. "But Lui Yao’s so-called peaceful coexistence will likely only last for a few more double-hours."

"Negotiating with him is like asking a tiger for its hide," Hee Chunhua mused. "He doesn’t want to move tonight because he’s unwilling to diminish his own strength. But once the three armies gather tomorrow, I’m afraid they’ll join forces to hunt us down!"

What could possibly boost the rebels’ morale more than wiping out a contingent of the Official Army?

These routed forces might even believe they need a major victory to set the stage for a successful rendezvous.

A heavy weight settled in Hee Lingchuan’s chest. He felt as if he were back on the battlefield of the Dream Realm. ’That same despair of being surrounded by enemies with no hope for the future... is it about to play out again in reality?’

’Winning a battle with three hundred warriors against four or five thousand men, trapped in this undefended little mountain valley? Not even novels would dare to write such a plot.’

When that time came, Hee Chunhua’s three hundred men would be nothing more than a sacrifice for the rebels to offer up to the heavens.

Madam Ying couldn’t help but interject, "We can’t leave now, but leaving tomorrow... that won’t work either! So what do we do?" ’Are we supposed to just sit here and wait to die?’

A momentary silence fell over the dining hall.

To stay meant death, to flee meant death. Unknowingly, their group of three or four hundred had been backed into a corner with no way out.

If it was true that heaven never sealed all exits, then where was their sliver of hope?

Hee Lingchuan recalled the battlefield from his dream. When the final line of defense formed by the carriages was about to be broken, he hadn’t felt utter despair, but rather a sense of glory, even in death!

They had held on to the very end and were finally met with the sound of a morale-boosting horn.

’It’s the same now. It’s too early to give up. There are still a few double-hours until dawn.’

’Time is money, and they still have a chance to turn the tables.’

Seeing everyone sitting stunned in the hall, Hee Lingchuan cleared his throat and said to Hee Chunhua, "The disparity in strength is too great. I don’t think we can win by relying on our own forces. Father, have you considered seeking external help?"

"Desheng Town, the closest town to us, is already under rebel control. To borrow troops, we’d have to go further, to Qianteng Town. I remember Hebei’s Zhechong Prefecture is there, but after the great battle at Woling Pass, I don’t know how many garrison soldiers are left." Hee Chunhua took a deep breath. "I’ll write a request for aid and send someone down the mountain with it. If we can hold out until tomorrow afternoon, perhaps... there’s still hope."

"No... Father, what I mean is, the Rebel Army isn’t a monolith. Are those two generals, Wu and Pei, really going to fall in line behind Lui Yao? Rather than pinning our hopes on unreliable garrison soldiers from down the mountain, why don’t we try to turn their own strength against them?" Seeing everyone staring at him intently, Hee Lingchuan gave a dry laugh. "That’s just a rough idea, though."

"Chuan’Er, what you’re saying..." A spark of inspiration flashed in Hee Chunhua’s mind. As he considered it more carefully, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. "That makes sense! Yes, that makes a lot of sense!"

He’d been momentarily dazed, intimidated by the sheer number of rebel soldiers, and had forgotten that two-thirds of them weren’t even Lui Yao’s men! Even though they were all part of the Rebel Army, the difference was enormous.

Hee Lingchuan’s point was like piercing through rice paper—obvious once stated, but incredibly useful. Mozhe Jingxuan followed this line of reasoning and grasped the key. "Lui Yao gathered an army of one thousand four hundred, yet he only brought a little over two hundred to Xianling Village, leaving the rest in the town. Why? Because this village can’t support that many men!"