Chapter 142: Chapter 143: The Situation Changes
Hee Lingchuan cut him off before he could finish. "The war in the north is dire, and they’re desperate for men! The Royal Court is completely overwhelmed. They’ll be grateful for every last soldier they can get on the field. Why would they cripple themselves at a time like this? After the war, you’ll have military honors to your names and be garrisoned in Xiazhou. If the Royal Court wants to exert control, they’ll have to get past the Chief Steward first!"
The Chief Steward of a prefecture was a high-ranking local official who managed both the economy and civilian affairs while also holding ultimate military and political authority. Even the Royal Court had to show them considerable respect.
Throughout the dynasties, granting amnesty to rebels was a common occurrence. Some of the pardoned rebel armies met good ends, while others did not; there was no consistent pattern. Wu Shaoyi said to Hee Lingchuan, "This is a serious matter. I need to discuss it with my brothers."
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Ahead was Zhumapo, which meant Pei Xinyong’s pursuit could finally come to a temporary halt.
Lui Yao had set an ambush of seven hundred men at Whistle Rock. Now, after they had lost over a hundred of their own, Pei Xinyong had chased them past Zhumapo.
The area featured a Natural Bridge, making it easy to defend and difficult to assault. Once he chased them here, Pei Xinyong could leave a hundred or two men to guard the bridge while he took the main force back to Xianling Village to rendezvous with Wu Shaoyi.
But Pei Xinyong was now uncertain.
The scouts he sent to Xianling Village had sent back three reports in succession. The first reported that Wu Shaoyi had successfully launched a surprise attack on Xianling Village. Lui Yao’s men, caught off guard, were slaughtered in large numbers, and Lui Yao himself had been chased to the shore of the lake, where he intended to escape by boat.
Pei Xinyong had never liked Lui Yao. In truth, Ogres like him were never popular, and after the Saint Master’s death, all of Lui Yao’s perceived strengths had become glaring weaknesses.
But Pei Xinyong had always believed that their factions had to stick together to avoid being picked off one by one by the government forces. That was why he had proposed the three groups meet to plan their next steps together.
He never expected Lui Yao to harbor such ill intentions and double-cross them.
Since that was the case, he decided he would help Wu Shaoyi eliminate this menace and ensure he couldn’t cause any more trouble.
The second report he received stated that the government troops had abandoned Xianling Village and entered West Mountain Road.
Pei Xinyong’s eyes narrowed as he read this. He first thought the government troops had seen through his and Wu Shaoyi’s plan and were rushing to break the siege at Whistle Rock. But the scout’s report immediately added that the troops were traveling with more than ten carriages and were accompanied by over a hundred villagers from Xianling Village.
’This doesn’t add up. Who brings family and baggage along when they’re supposed to be fighting bandits?’
’This looks less like a pursuit and more like a retreat. Did they realize they couldn’t beat Wu Shaoyi, so they decided to tuck tail and run?’
Pei Xinyong still hadn’t decided how to deal with this contingent of government soldiers.
In fact, the very presence of this government force was peculiar.
However, the third report from the scout revealed a shocking turn of events.
The Crocodile God had ambushed Wu Shaoyi, allowing Lui Yao to stage a stunning reversal. Not only had he overcome the immediate crisis, but he had also seized the opportunity to absorb all of Wu Shaoyi’s men into his own ranks!
This was terrible news.
Even a seasoned veteran like Pei Xinyong, who had weathered countless storms, was momentarily at a loss for what to do next.
’Should I just leave?’
As he stood there, undecided, a whirring of wings echoed from the sky. A Personal Guard beside Pei Xinyong raised an arm, and a Mechanical Bird landed upon it.
The Personal Guard retrieved a small scroll from a hidden compartment on the bird and handed it to Pei Xinyong. The general took it, and after a quick glance, his face changed dramatically.
The message on it was brief, but the metallic tang of blood was overpowering. It had clearly been written in fresh blood:
"You’ve fallen for a trick! Turn east and kill the soldiers, then join me. All is forgiven!"
The signature was a single word:
Lui!
Evidently, his scout in Xianling Village had been discovered and killed by Lui Yao, who had then commandeered the Mechanical Bird to personally write this ultimatum to Pei Xinyong.
’Is this a trap?’
As he pondered indecisively, a confidant leaned in. "General, if Lui Yao wanted to kill us, he’d just pursue us. There would be no need to send a message like this."
’That’s true.’
Seeing that his words had registered, the confidant added, "If what Lui Yao says is true, then we have to eliminate those government troops. Otherwise, news of the Rebel Army’s movements south will leak out sooner or later, and the consequences will be disastrous."
After their defeat at Woling Pass, the scattered remnants of the Rebel Army had been extremely careful to conceal their movements.
Why else had these three factions of the Rebel Army snuck to Immortal Spirit Lake for a meeting? They coveted the location’s quiet isolation, which would allow them to confer in peace. If their location were leaked, the local garrisons would send endless waves of soldiers to exterminate them, which would be a massive headache.
If Lui Yao was telling the truth, they could join forces to annihilate the government soldiers.
And if Lui Yao was luring him back into a trap? The government soldiers numbered only two or three hundred. Even with Lui Yao’s four or five hundred men, their combined force would only be seven or eight hundred strong. Pei Xinyong, on the other hand, commanded more than sixteen hundred men. In terms of both numbers and skill, he had little to fear.
’And if I can’t win, I can always retreat,’ he thought. Besides, he recalled the second report: the government troops were burdened with the old and young as they traveled west. It didn’t look like a war march; it looked like an escape!
Having considered all this, he raised his head and issued the order, "Turn the column around! We’re heading back to kill those government dogs!"
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Hee Lingchuan had to make himself scarce while the Mountain Bandits held their meeting.
He was actually extremely anxious. He had no idea what condition the government troops were in, or if they had already engaged the enemy. As things stood, a peculiar situation had developed on West Mountain Road:
The seven hundred Lui Bandits ← Pei Xinyong’s army ← the government troops ← Lui Yao’s four hundred men.
So many factions were on West Mountain Road, one chasing the other in a long line. Even if Hee Lingchuan’s horse were swift, the most he could do would be to catch up to Lui Yao’s forces. A huge battle would be unavoidable, and he still wouldn’t be able to contact his father.
’What am I going to do?’ He had gone to such lengths to persuade Wu Shaoyi and this band of Mountain Bandits to his side. It would be a terrible shame not to use them to rescue the besieged government troops.
Worries aside, Hee Lingchuan’s stomach began to growl.
After a brutal night of fighting without a scrap of food or a drop of water, he knew he had to replenish his energy. He slipped among the village houses, searching them one by one, and quickly found a few large flatbreads in someone’s kitchen.
The bandits had forced the village women to prepare a great deal of food last night, but the sudden appearance of a fresh fish feast meant that a lot of the staples were left behind in the kitchens.
Cold fish tasted gamey and unpleasant, but the flatbreads were perfectly fine.
Hee Lingchuan grabbed a few rolled pancakes, toasted to a golden brown, and ate as he walked. The subtle sweetness of the bread and the fragrance of scallions soothed his empty stomach. When it came to food, he was never very picky.
He then thought of the giant crocodiles, so he went back into the village and found an animal pen.
He’d intended to catch a few chickens or ducks, but the pen was a mess of feathers, with only two little chicks left trembling behind the wooden fence.
’Looks like the Mountain Bandits already ransacked this spot last night.’ He was about to leave when he noticed splotches of blood on the ground, along with several severed chicken heads and a few hollowed-out carcasses.
Hee Lingchuan picked one up for a closer look. ’This wasn’t done by a human. Bandit or villager, whoever kills a chicken takes it to the kitchen for processing, right?’
He shrugged and went to find another coop. This time he found several plump chickens. He caught them, carried them to the lakeshore, and tossed them across.
’It’s easy to be generous with other people’s things, anyway.’
The feathered creatures squawked wildly, full of life. The Crocodile God didn’t bother to move, continuing to sunbathe with its eyes half-closed. The smaller Little Crocodile Demons, however, scrambled after the birds, and were soon chomping away, their mouths full of feathers.
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