Chapter 150: Chapter 151: Reunion
Pei and Wu had already joined forces to ambush him once before!
Wu Shaoyi had raided Xianling Village and Pei Xinyong had attacked Whistle Rock. In both cases, it was his, Lui Yao’s, men who suffered the losses. Who was to say Pei Xinyong couldn’t pull the same trick again?
If Pei and Wu were working together again, it meant the fog couldn’t stop Pei Xinyong. The only one trapped and at a disadvantage here was his own faction!
With Pei Xinyong in the open and Wu Shaoyi in the shadows, their combined forces would exceed two thousand men. He only had four or five hundred soldiers, most of whom had surrendered to him. How could he possibly fend off an attack from both of them at once?
’This is bad! Since when have I been in such mortal danger without even realizing it?’
The more Lui Yao thought about it, the more his heart sank, but his anger was rapidly building.
’So what if I’m cornered? Am I just going to sit here and wait to die? Those two have played me for a fool more than once. Even if fate, the terrain, and my own men are all against me, if Pei and Wu want to take me down, they’re going to pay a heavy price!’
Lui Yao’s face was expressionless, but Pei Xinyong noticed the muscles in his jaw tighten. He was clearly gritting his teeth.
’The Sable clearly lingered in the tree. I’m sure Lui Yao saw it, but he hesitated to ask about it. This means he probably already knows Wu Shaoyi is still alive.’
’If that’s the case, why did he still come to me, accept me as commander-in-chief, and insist on chasing the government soldiers ahead? Why?’
’Because once I, Pei Xinyong, find out Wu Shaoyi is alive, I’ll probably side with my old ally again to corner Lui Yao. So, this Lui fellow is sticking close to me, planning to strike first to gain the upper hand?’
’Once I’m dead, the Pei Army will be leaderless and far less of a threat. Then, Lui Yao can turn his attention to Wu Shaoyi, and he’d stand a decent chance. After all, Wu Shaoyi fought a vicious battle with the Crocodile God. Even if he survived, he must be badly wounded, right?’
’If Lui Yao wants to survive this, it’s probably his only option.’
Then again, strictly speaking, Lui Yao wasn’t entirely without support on this mountain path.
At this thought, Pei Xinyong sighed. "What do we do now? Your Red Falcon can’t fly anymore, can it?"
"Its wing is ruined. We can only wait here. They set up their Array Formation in a hurry, so it shouldn’t last long. The fog will probably clear in a bit, right?" Lui Yao said, irritated. "I can’t shake the feeling I saw someone standing in the fog ahead of you just now."
"A tree stump," Pei Xinyong said calmly. "By the way, what deep-seated hatred do you have for the government soldiers? Why are you chasing them so relentlessly?"
"That dog official, Hee, plotted against me!" Hatred flared in Lui Yao’s eyes. He recounted how Hee Chunhua had sown discord among the three armies and prevented them from joining forces. "You and Wu Shaoyi both fell for his scheme!"
"So you’re saying that you drinking and eating fish with him in the village was just a delaying tactic?"
"That’s right! The person who tipped you off must have been sent by him as well," Lui Yao sneered. "Us fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what he wants."
"He only has three hundred men, and he’s saddled with women and children. You couldn’t handle that?" Pei Xinyong mused. "And didn’t you have seven hundred men at Whistle Rock at the time?" ’That’s nearly a thousand men combined.’
"I wanted to save him to serve as a ritual sacrifice for our banner!" This was the biggest flaw in Lui Yao’s whole story, and he knew it, but he had to stand his ground. ’Could I really admit that I was afraid of taking losses and not being able to contend with you two sons of bitches when our armies met?’
"You don’t believe me?" Lui Yao said coldly. "Then why are the government soldiers fleeing right now?"
The words had barely left his mouth when two blood-curdling screams echoed from the rear.
The combined Pei and Lui armies numbered over two thousand men. Since they were on a narrow mountain path, the column was stretched out over a long distance.
The thick fog blotted out the sky, making it impossible for them to see the end of their column.
Both men were already on high alert, and the screams snapped the last frayed nerve. Lui Yao demanded, "What’s going on?"
A shout came from the rear. "General, two of our brothers were hit by arrows!"
Suddenly, four or five more men cried out in agony.
The column descended into chaos as everyone drew their blades. Trapped in the fog, no one knew where the attack was coming from. Just the threat of these hidden archers was enough to put every bandit on edge, each man glancing nervously at the others.
Lui Yao also bellowed, "Something’s wrong! Stay alert!"
"Form a Battle Array!" Pei Xinyong frowned and turned. But on such a narrow mountain path, a Battle Array was useless.
But as he turned, a cold glint in his peripheral vision shot toward his neck.
The oppressive killing intent made the hair on his neck stand on end.
CLANG! With a clash of metal, he raised his Page Hammer at the last possible second and blocked the attack.
The Page Hammer was his favored weapon for fighting on horseback.
Of course, Pei Xinyong realized the one who had just struck with that treacherous axe was none other than Lui Yao!
The moment Lui Yao struck, three of his subordinates exploded into action, lunging at the Personal Guards behind Pei Xinyong. With screams just having erupted from the rear of the column, everyone’s attention was focused behind them. Who would have expected Death to strike from their very side?
One of Pei Xinyong’s two Personal Guards was instantly decapitated. The other was stabbed in the lower back with a spiked weapon; when the enemy yanked it free, it tore out his intestines.
A third man took advantage of the clash between Pei Xinyong and Lui Yao to leap up, gripping a Wolf Fang Club with both hands and bringing it down on Pei Xinyong’s head.
Had it connected, Pei Xinyong’s head would have been crushed.
But there are no "what ifs" in battle. While his right hand blocked Lui Yao’s sneak attack, Pei Xinyong swung his left-hand Page Hammer backward without even looking. He deflected the Wolf Fang Club, then followed the momentum with a rising strike that smashed into the armored bandit. The blow shattered the man’s sternum through his Heart Guard Armor, ruptured his internal organs, and sent him flying more than twenty feet.
The Wolf Fang Club was famous, but the Page Hammer was its equal. Both were bludgeoning weapons that maimed through sheer force. The head of a Page Hammer was flanged, resembling the pages of an open book—hence its name. When it struck, all its destructive power was focused on the edge of a single "page," making it common for a single blow to shatter bones, tear ligaments, and cause fatal internal injuries.
These weapons were usually wielded in pairs. By the time Pei Xinyong had dealt with the man behind him, his own subordinates had reacted and were rushing forward to protect their lord.
The two armies, which had coexisted peacefully for more than a double-hour, suddenly turned on one another.
As the two generals clashed, Pei Xinyong sneered, "Finished ambushing Wu Shaoyi, have you? Couldn’t resist trying your luck again?"
Lui Yao fought with all his might, saying nothing.
’Now that all pretense is gone, I have to kill Pei Xinyong as quickly as possible and rout the Pei Army. Only then will I have any hope of surviving the crisis to come!’
...
The mountain path erupted into a chaotic brawl, with bandits fighting duels everywhere. Hee Lingchuan and Lian Deng quietly backed away, dragging two horses with them.
Thankfully, the thick fog provided cover. After just a few steps, they vanished from sight.
A moment ago, they had fired the arrows and then mimicked two agonizing screams, which had instantly thrown the scene into disarray.
This was exactly the effect Hee Lingchuan wanted. You can only fish in troubled waters—or in this case, nab horses. He ducked into the battlefield, snatched the horses from a couple of dead men, and made a run for it.
In the utter chaos of battle, no one would even notice a few missing horses.
Unidentified projectiles frequently flew out of the brawling crowd, so Hee Lingchuan and Lian Deng carefully put some distance between themselves and the fight before leaping onto the horses and galloping down the path after the government soldiers.
The two of them were too weak to make a difference here. They needed reinforcements.
For Hee Lingchuan, who was protected by Primordial Power, navigating was no problem at all. Soon, they had left the fog far behind.
They emerged into a clear, sunny day with visibility for miles.
Unexpectedly, after riding less than a mile, they heard the thunder of hooves up ahead. It was a large group, and they were heading straight for them.
Hee Lingchuan’s heart leaped into his throat.
’Could it be?’
A few moments later, the column of riders rounded a mountain pass, revealing themselves.
A banner billowed in the wind at the head of the army, bearing the large character for "Crane."
’Crane?’
The first thing that came to Hee Lingchuan’s mind was the Hubei Zhechong Prefecture, the one his father had written to for aid.
The approaching soldiers clearly hadn’t expected to run into anyone around the bend. The lead riders reined in their horses sharply, and someone suddenly yelled, "Eldest Young Master!"
Hee Lingchuan froze, recognizing the familiar, cracking voice. He looked closer and saw it was Fuzzy Peach!
"Eldest Young Master!" Several more riders pushed through the ranks. It was Zeng Feixiong and Zhao Qinghe, leading a group of familiar faces from the Supporting Army. They were all ecstatic. "You’re alive! You’re really alive!"
"It’s not that easy to kill me."
Zhao Qinghe sighed. "Mr. Hee was right. You truly are a fortunate general!"
The two generals rode closer, and Zeng Feixiong explained to Hee Lingchuan, "The Hubei Zhechong Prefecture sent troops as soon as they got the message. We met them on the road, and Mr. Hee assigned our Supporting Army to coordinate with them to destroy the enemy. This is Captain Zhao, and this is Captain Li!"
Hee Lingchuan immediately greeted the two captains. He saw the formidable Zhechong Prefecture army behind them, which looked to be at least seven or eight hundred strong. The Supporting Army had also brought nearly two hundred men. Clearly, once Hee Chunhua knew his son was safe, he intended to switch from defense to offense.
Lian Deng couldn’t wait any longer. He coughed several times. "Young Master Hee, we have urgent business!"
"Right, the business at hand!" Hee Lingchuan snapped back to reality. "Captains, the Lui Thief who massacred the civilians of Xianling Village and forced me off a cliff is in the fog behind us, fighting Pei Xinyong right now! Why don’t we go take advantage of the situation?"
Taking advantage of a situation, snatching an easy victory—who wouldn’t love such a fine opportunity? Captain Zhao and Captain Li looked solemn. "We were just on our way to crush those rebels. Let’s go!"
On the way, Hee Lingchuan briefly explained what he had witnessed in the fog and introduced Lian Deng. "This is one of Wu Shaoyi’s men. Wu Shaoyi is willing to submit to the Royal Court and fight alongside us."
A thousand government soldiers marched valiantly toward the fog-shrouded battlefield.
The mile-long stretch of mountain road passed in the blink of an eye. Ahead of them, the land was once again blanketed in fog.
The battle zone was just ahead; they could already hear the clang of weapons.
The men exchanged glances, drew their weapons, and deliberately slowed their pace.
...
As soon as he parried Lui Yao’s sneak attack, Pei Xinyong felt a sense of dread.
The enemy had the element of surprise, striking down his men in the first instant of their assault. Pei Xinyong had started with more than twenty Personal Guards, but after a mere dozen seconds, only six or seven remained.
Fortunately, these six or seven men were the Elite of the Elite, and they managed to endure the enemy’s ferocious, storm-like assault.
Pei Xinyong’s main force of over a thousand men was completely cut off by the Lui Army, unable to come to his rescue.
The situation had devolved into Pei Xinyong and his seven or eight remaining men forming a tight circle to fend off Lui Yao’s assault. Beyond Lui Yao’s forces was the rest of Pei Xinyong’s own army.
Although the Pei Army fought desperately to rescue their master, the narrow terrain prevented them from mounting an effective charge.
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