Sui Zhou didn’t turn his head, so who knew if he had heard. His figure vanished into the mist like a shooting star.
A short moment later, a muffled sound came from in front. The array around Wang Zhi and Wei Mao subsequently stagnated.
Wang Zhi zeroed in on the opportunity, shouting, “Go!”
Wei Mao’s psyche had been tensed this whole time, prepped to be on-the-go at any time. Nearly the second Wang Zhi spoke, he promptly charged in the direction Sui Zhou had broken through from.
At some unknown time, the sound of fighting all around them gradually vanished. Hair-raisingly, the underworld soldiers half-hidden in the wind and sand also subsequently vanished, the dark nightfall switched out for the fishbelly-white of dawn on the horizon.
Wang Zhi and Wei Mao abruptly noticed that despite the sandstorm still dancing like mad, without the array’s cover, those ‘infinite troops’ that confused the eyes had vanished into nothing, the enemy’s situation gradually emerging.
In a split second, they all realized that Tang Fan had found the distant stone formation and broken it!
There were a total of eight people surrounding Wang Zhi’s group, arranged in accordance with the eight trigrams; qian, kun, zhen, xun, kan, li, gen, dui. Whenever their group tried to break free of the circle from a certain position, the two foes to the left and right of said position would join forces to help the middle person attack them, and if one was killed, a new person positioned outside would come up to fill in for them.
This unending, multiplying cycle of come-and-go — combined with the former chaos of the underworld soldiers and cover of the sandstorm — had thus created a flawless array, rigidly trapping Wang Zhi and Wei Mao there.
However, their foes did not have unlimited people to kill, and Wang Zhi’s group were not pacifists. Via a whole night’s worth of effort, the enemy now had exactly eight members remaining, no new blood to restock from the outside.
Sui Zhou had just determined a position from a voice; the direction he was attacking in was one of the links in the eight-person formation, Li Zilong. That the latter would actually show up to participate in the attack in person meant that they had indeed killed the greater part of the followers.
Thinking of all that, Wang Zhi’s spirits were greatly lifted, and he laughed as he pounced on someone beside Li Zilong. The man had been about to attack Sui Zhou while he wrangled with Li Zilong, only to be intercepted by Wang Zhi.
Without the protection of those underworld soldiers, the Society followers were no more than average people, if a little bit more skilled. Why would Wang Zhi and Wei Mao ever fear them? The three formed an offense-defense set-up, beginning to fight in close quarters with the eight-person group headed by Li Zilong.
The black night would be passing, and daybreak would be coming eventually. Alongside the appearance of that smear of fishbelly-white, the sky was getting brighter and brighter, the wind and sand that had been blowing all night finally beginning to slow their force.
That was not good news, in the Society’s opinion. Wang Zhi’s group was only three, yet they could very well kill all eight of them.
Seeing yet another companion fall, the advantage of their side gradually waning, a follower grit his teeth, then called to Li Zilong. “Second Head, this can’t go on! The Tartar army is about to attack! Are we really going to be able to capture him alive?!”
Currently, there was no longer an issue of a live capture, as the array had been broken and the other side’s confidence had been greatly bolstered. If things continued like so, would they be able to retreat intact?
Li Zilong realized at last that he had committed a strategic error.
At the start, they could have simply killed Wang Zhi, but he had thought that a live Wang Zhi would be more valuable than a dead one, so he had persistently demanded that his subordinates capture him alive, even laying down an impenetrable trap to lead the others away from him as best as possible.
Unexpectedly, Meng Cun had made a mistake on his end and failed in his task, giving Tang Fan’s group the opportunity to flee, then double back to help.
Now that the array was ruined, the success chance of capturing Wang Zhi was greatly reduced, and because they had been tied up with him on this side, they had lost their best chance to act. The combined martial forces of the other three could surprisingly match with all of them, or even turn the situation around.
Once another shichen passed, the Tartar army would go and attack. Were they to discover that the array’s effect had failed and he hadn’t captured Wang Zhi, they would certainly be furious with him, judging by their predator-like personalities…
Bringing that to mind, Li Zilong inwardly clenched his jaw, hating Tang Fan to the bone all the more. Had it not been for him breaking the stone array, this situation wouldn’t have come about tonight — to say nothing of the fact that the other had caused the death of his sworn son, Li Man.
Another follower fell, leaving only six of the eight-person formation left, and of those six, all were elite members that he had painstakingly cultured.
The White Lotus Society, which had suffered a heavy blow, could no longer withstand any further losses.
“…Retreat!” he practically spat from between the cracks in his teeth.
While the Society people slowly gained the image of drawing back, Wang Zhi’s group had also heard Li Zilong, and simply strengthened their offense intuitively. Each of them wielding a spring-gilt sabre left no cracks to leak out of, the images of blades harshly winding and weaving, the passive becoming the active.
Their target was Li Zilong.
From the demon fox case of the capital to the Weining Sealet of today, what was behind all of these suspenseful events was inseparable from the operations of the demonic priest before them. If they could catch him, the Society would certainly consider it a heavy blow, and they might be able to use that chance to pull this batch of hideously-dancing evildoers from its roots. Having thought as much, Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi thereby used all of their strength to make Li Zilong stay here.
However, since Li Zilong had been able to slip out from under the Emperor himself’s nose, even managing to complete a switcheroo at his Caishikou execution via underhanded means, how could he not have a backup move?
He peered at Wang Zhi, Sui Zhou, and Wei Mao, huffed out a cold laugh, then quickly drew away from the battle. The five remaining followers fought with their opponents, while he blew on a loud and clear whistle.
The cry of falcons was heard coming out of thin air. Large shadows promptly covered the three’s heads. They all looked up to see two huge falcons dropping down from the sky, bearing down on them without warning.
Were they to be pecked by those sharp, slightly-curved beaks, that would be no joking matter, their flesh likely to come off with the scrape. They could no longer care about the followers, raising their sabres to resist the two falcons’ surprise attack.
Meanwhile, Li Zilong’s group took this opportunity to flee.
The huge birds were clearly well-trained, their fighting abilities comparable to that of average experts. Due to the advantageous terrain of the open air, Sui Zhou and the rest inevitably became hindered in movement, only able to look on helplessly as Li Zilong led his team into vanishing from their lines of sight.
After they left, the falcons had no love for fighting, and immediately circled upwards, flying high into the sky, gradually shrinking into small black dots until no trace could be seen of them.
In truth, even without the midway interruption by the falcons, they might not have been able to actually capture Li Zilong.
As they were painfully aware of themselves, after a whole night of strenuous fighting, their physical strength was already reaching its limit. Sui Zhou was okay, as he had at least had shelter from the rain in the cave and a short rest, but Wang Zhi and Wei Mao were awful. Getting any rest aside, they had been getting drenched and fighting for the prior half of the night, and the latter half, they’d had to remain in rampant sand without falling to a disadvantage. Their opponents’ withdrawal, from another perspective, was a great aid to them, because, after a little while more, they might not have been able to hold themselves up anymore.
Sui Zhou was still cable of keeping himself upright using his sabre, panting slightly, while Wang Zhi and Wei Mao sat right on the ground. Not a bit of them wasn’t injured, cutting indescribably sorry figures while their faces were covered in grime. It was likely that if Wang Zhi went back to the city now, no one would be able to recognize him.
“We can’t rest yet,” a voice came from not far away.
The three followed the sound to see Tang Fan and Du Gui’r supporting each other as they walked over. They, too, had new injuries, looking to have suffered quite a lot when they had broken the array — but as long as they were still alive, everything was going to be okay.
Seeing that everyone was fine, they all relaxed.
Sui Zhou’s gaze on Tang Fan was even more focused, as if he wanted to confirm that he genuinely was without injury. That burning look was practically about to gain substance; how could Mister Tang not sense it?
His handsome face lightly flushed. Pretending not to see, he repeated what he had just said. “We can’t rest yet, we need to rush back to the city and make a report. The Tartars will come to attack Datong soon, and Commandant Wang needs to be informed of that in advance.”
As a border city, Datong was always in a state of war preparations, but ‘the enemy might be coming’ and ‘the enemy is coming, right now’ were two different concepts. The more sufficiently prepared they were, the greater their chances of victory would be, and the fewer casualties would come.
Wang Zhi rolled his eyes. “I can’t walk. You lot will have to be the ones to go back!”
He really couldn’t walk; that wasn’t an act. His energy was depleted, his complexion was gray, and it looked like he was approaching his outer limit. The same went for Wei Mao beside him.
Tang Fan shook his head. Ignoring his huffy words, he turned to Sui Zhou. “Guangchuan, Lu Yan is still in the cave.”
The other immediately caught his meaning. “I’ll go get him. You all start walking, I’ll see you in the city later.”
Tang Fan nodded. “Okay. Take care.”
Sui Zhou went back to find Lu Yan, and the other four went back to Datong on foot.
From the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain last night, the horses they had rode in on had long since fled to parts unknown, leaving them to walk on their two legs. It was likely that before they would be able to get back, the Tartar cavalry would arrive.
Out of a lack of choice, Wang Zhi and Wei Mao led Tang Fan and Du Gui’r along, respectively, gathered up their energy, and ran back.
Martial artists were ultimately not the same as ordinary folks, making their pace a lot quicker. If they exerted themselves, they might be able to get back to Datong before the Tartars.
On his end, Sui Zhou had Lu Yan on his back, and also caught up pretty quickly. Wang Zhi tightly clutched Tang Fan’s arm, face ashen, unable to even speak, afraid that if he expended that energy, he wouldn’t be able to get it back.
The group traveled at various paces, then ultimately arrived at the outside of Datong City a shichen after sunrise…
Only to be barred outside the gate, disallowed from coming in.
The reason was none other than that the six of them were coated in bloodstains and looked abhorrent. Even the lone woman, Du Gui’r, was no exception, being terrible to behold.
The second he saw the gate-guarding soldier looking at all of them like they were bandits as he sized them up, the originally out-of-strength Eunuch Wang instantly grew incensed. “The hell are you looking at?! I’m the Defending Supervisor of Datong, Wang Zhi! What short-sighted fucker would dare to impersonate me?! This blade of mine killed a lot of traitors last night, and if you dare to stop me, you’ll be another one!”
Tang Fan placed his hand on his forehead. Didn’t Wang Zhi say that he had no strength? Where was he getting this energy now?
As soon as the soldier heard the name Wang Zhi, the look in his eyes immediately changed. Upon closer inspection… oh no, he really was Eunuch Wang!
It was simply that Eunuch Wang was typically sharply-dressed. When had he ever had such a bedraggled appearance?
At this moment, the other didn’t even dare to wipe off Wang Zhi’s spittle that had flown onto his face, hurriedly letting them in in an ingratiating manner.
After entering the city, Wang Zhi still had to go report to Wang Yue, as only then could the order be passed down for the city to prepare for war. The rest of them brought Du Gui’r back home, having a doctor of Zhongjing Hall treat Lu Yan for his injuries while they were at it. The bandages from last night had been rushed, all of it done under pressure, and he needed better arrangements.
Upon her return to Zhongjing Hall, Doctor Du held his head and wept bitterly at seeing his daughter’s ragged state, naturally.
Idle talk was not for here. Following a period of busyness, Lu Yan was left in Zhongjing Hall to recover. Tang Fan and Sui Zhou didn’t remain for long in the Hall after getting treated, instead planning to return to the posthouse to rest.
Tang Fan was unbearably exhausted. On the road back, his steps felt floaty, as if he was walking on clouds. All of a sudden, his foot stepped on nothing, and once he snapped out of it, he realized that he had since come to be carried on someone’s back.
He blinked. “Guangchuan?”
Because he had reached the peak of exhaustion, he was forced to manually blink to avoid shutting his eyes.
“I feared you’d doze off on the walk,” said a staid voice from in front of him, the vibrations of his chest transferring to Tang Fan’s arms.
“Put me down, you’re injured too. I can still walk.” Tang Fan laughed, gently patting his shoulder.
Seeing a man carrying another man didn’t attract curiosity from passersby, as they merely took Tang Fan as having an injured foot. Mister Tang, who hadn’t been piggybacked since he was four years old, still felt a little embarrassed, though.
Sui Zhou didn’t release him, of course, continuing to hold him steady. Tang Fan was helpless — it wasn’t like he could hop off his back — so he had to go along with him.
The other man’s back was broad and warm. Regardless of how hard Tang Fan blinked, he ended up not being able to stand his strong drowsiness, and passed out at some unknown point.
His sleep was extraordinarily heavy. Let alone thunder and lightning, the Tartars besieging Datong City would likely not even rouse him.
When he opened his eyes once more, he saw familiar roofbeams overhead. His mind was a little fuzzy; it took him a very long time to realize that this was his room at Datong’s posthouse.
How long had he slept?
He rubbed his stomach. It hurt a little, which was a symptom of having been hungry for a long time. He then looked himself over; his clothes had since been changed, the inner robes all new. This wasn’t that outfit he had been wearing when they had come back.
He lifted the blanket to prepare to get out of bed, only to hear a soft knock come from outside.
“Come in.”
A posthouse worker pushed the door open, breaking out into a smile. “Oi, Sir Tan, you’ve awoken! You slept for a full two days!”
Two days?
Tang Fan was somewhat shocked, immediately recalling something more important. “The Tartars came?”
“They did, and the fighting is over. The sound of the melee could shake the sky! We at the inn could hear it, yet it didn’t rouse you! This lowly one was shocked!”
“How did the battle go?” Tang Fan quickly asked.
“It was fierce!” the worker started, his spit flying all over. “They say that when Commandant Wang just ordered for the city gates to be closed and martial law imposed, the Tartars came attacking not long after on their end, not expecting that we would long be prepared—“
Dark-faced, Tang Fan cut him off. “Get to the main point!”
The worker snapped out of it. “Ohhh, the main point is that we won!”
Tang Fan took a huge sigh of relief, still a bit too afraid to believe it. He had learned out of Meng Cun’s mouth before that the Tartars would be coming prepared this time, and Dayan Khan had been appointed as the commander, so he had feared that it wouldn’t be so easy to deal with them. “Truly?”
“Truly, and it was a big victory! Everybody says that thanks to Commandant Wang’s god-like prediction, we were ready ahead of time, else the gates would have all been open and the citizens wouldn’t have had time to escape… purportedly, he also caught that Tartar commander’s son. His name is T… Tur-something?”
Tang Fan’s brows raised high, feeling joyful at this great victory. He wanted to go to the Commandant Estate and ask, but his stomach couldn’t hold out, gurgling.
The worker quickly smiled. “Look at this memory of mine! The kitchen downstairs has food already made in it. This lowly one will bring you hot water to wash up with, so you can go eat after you’re done!”
Once freshened up, Tang Fan headed down to the dining hall enthusiastically, then caught sight of a steaming bowl of shrimp congee set upon a table. The soft white congee covered the fresh, tender, pink-and-white shrimp meat, chopped mushrooms and sausage sprinkled on top of it. Forget about eating it — the smell alone made one’s fingers greatly twitch. Next to the shrimp congee was also a stack of dressed cucumber and tofu noodles, both appetizing side dishes.
After all the blowing wind, drenching rain, suffering cold, and starvation of last night, the fresh dishes before his eyes practically seemed to be from a previous generation. Sleeping for two full days had made his stomach, deprived of even a grain of rice, issue the harshest of complaints.
He automatically gulped. For the first time in his entire life, he sat down and inhaled the food like a hungry tiger pouncing on its meal. It wasn’t until half of the congee was swallowed down that he felt his entire being reinvigorate.
The supreme joy of being human had to be exactly this!
Mister Tang sighed like someone with no promising future, smiling at the posthouse worker. “The posthouse’s craftsmanship just gets better and better! Even this congee doesn’t taste the same!”
It had almost caught up with Sui Zhou’s.
The worker smiled right back. “It’s good that you like it. Sir Sui cooked it for you himself!”
Tang Fan was taken aback. “How did he know I was waking up today?”
“He didn’t. He cooked all of your meals these past two days, so that you could eat them whenever you woke up.”
Hearing that answer, then looking at the bowl of congee, Mister Tang suddenly tasted another, different flavor.
It was sweet, and sour.
After finishing his meal, he went off to the Commandant Estate. By coincidence, not only Wang Yue was there, but Wang Zhi and Sui Zhou, as well.
Seeing that Tang Fan had arrived, Wang Zhi broke out into a mocking grin. “Anyone else would sleep for a day at most, yet you slept for two whole ones. Even the Tartar siege couldn’t wake you up! You sleep better than pigs!”
Tang Fan’s mouth twitched, thinking to himself, Of course I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you, you were able to scold someone at the gate after fighting for a whole night. That’s some absolutely astounding energy.
His eyes inadvertently met Sui Zhou’s. The two watched each other for a short moment, then Mister Tang looked away on his own initiative. “I heard you all caught Dayan Khan’s son?”
“Yes, Turbolat. His eldest.” Wang Yue was the one to answer him, stroking his beard as he smiled, pride across his whole face. “Censor Tang, this is owed to all of you heading for the Weining Sealet to break the White Lotus Society’s array, then reporting back in a timely matter. It was only then that the Ming army could cross the Sealet without worry this time, chase them down to Blackrock Cliffs, and achieve great victory. Though we couldn’t grab Dayan Khan himself, capturing his eldest son alive is fantastic! This official represents the Great Ming’s officers and Datong’s citizens when I say: thank you all!”
Saying so, he got up and gave Tang Fan a deep bow.
Reason told that despite Tang Fan having been dispatched by the Court, Wang Yue was a higher rank than him, so there was no need for him to be courteous at all. However, Wang Yue doing such a thing demonstrated that he had a good comprehension of human emotions, making it little wonder as to why someone of Wang Zhi’s personality could also get along with him.
Tang Fan hurriedly stood up to avoid this, cupping his hands with a smile. “This humble official does not deserve such, Mister Commandant. We were doing all we could in the scope of our duties; this praise from you is too much.”
It had to be said — this was a man that differed from men!
Wang Yue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, as he was also an imperial ambassador. Take a look at Guo Tang, who only ever weighed down their back legs all day long after coming to Datong, itching for them to be defeated and condemned by the Court. Things had not developed in the way he had hoped, though; on the flipside, Wang Yue and Wang Zhi had established a huge merit. Guo Tang had simply taken an absence of illness at the celebration feast, not even showing his face, as he was likely staying in his Estate to write memorials, secretly preparing to shade them.
As for Tang Fan’s group, the instant they came, they had been a great help, and had even hurried to give an advance warning so that Wang Yue could make full preparations. After it was done, they didn’t even take the credit for themselves, plenty humble.
What a shame it was that treachers currently held power in Court. Talents like them would not be reused, but be thrown to the side, while more people like Guo Tang would receive promotions.
Wang Yue found it beyond lamentable, but he put a smile on his face. “There’s no need to be modest, Censor Tang. As you were resting in the posthouse these past two days and missed the celebration feast, you’ll be made up for it today. Come and have dinner at the Commandant Estate tonight — this official happens to have people preparing a banquet of good food and wine, so you must not refuse!”
With that much said, Tang Fan couldn’t reject this, giving a laugh. “There’s no hurry for the meal. However, is Turbolat still in the city?”
Wang Yue nodded. “I ordered for him to be locked up.”
“It can’t be that the Tartars have simply allowed this, making no fuss?”
The other laughed. “How could they have not? He’s Dayan Khan’s eldest, I’ve heard; courageous, good at fighting, of generally good repute amongst the clan, and always quite popular. Dayan Khan had only gotten away due to the protection of his bodyguards. After getting away from Blackrock Cliffs, he sent messengers over in want to ransom back Turbolat.”
Tang Fan was overjoyed. “That’s great! Li Zilong, the agent behind the demonic fox case, is now the Tartars’ State Master. You can add him to the conditions of the exchange so that they deliver the demon to us!”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he said that, the expressions of everyone present turned a bit unsightly.
Being bright, he immediately came to a realization. “You already brought that term up?”
Wang Yue smiled painfully. “Yes. We were discussing this right before you arrived. The Tartars relayed news that Li Zilong had used the chaos to flee, his whereabouts unknown. Even they can’t find him.”
“What a load of fucking bullshit!” Wang Zhi slapped the arm of his chair, clearly stifling a stomachful of fire. “He colluded with them, helped them set up an array and slaughter the Ming army at the Weining Sealet, and he just runs because he wants to? Are the Tartars all dead?! Do they not have a single bit of vigilance?!”
“That isn’t an impossibility, actually,” Sui Zhou said. “They wanted to catch you alive then, so they must have had some other plan. After their failure and escape, even if they returned to the Tartars, the latter would not easily let things lie. Furthermore, the Tartars have lost the fight, their forces took a great loss, and Turbolat is in our hands, so it will likely be difficult for them to make any sort of large-scale invasion for a few years. In the Society’s view, the Tartars have lost their worth for right now.”
That said, as long as Wang Zhi thought about how mighty he ordinarily was, yet had been stuck in the Weining Sealet for a whole night, disheveled to his upper limits, he couldn’t swallow down his anger.
Wang Yue sighed. “This isn’t the trickiest part. The Tartars have many Ming soldiers captured, and claim that they will exchange them for Turbolat.”
Tang Fan was surprised. “How did they get Ming soldiers?”
Generally, whenever the Tartars captured Great Ming citizens, they would take them as spoils of war, then divide them up amongst various tribes to be slaves and ordered around for hard labor. As for those strong-bodied Ming soldiers, the Tartars would believe them to be elements of instability and kill them, following the same sort of rapid expansion that the Mongolian cavalry once had.
“From the soldiers that went to scout the path at the Sealet the three times before,” Wang Yue answered. “They left a bunch of them, not killing them, and now they’re offering an exchange.”
Tang Fan was quiet. He could understand Wang Yue’s predicament.
When it came to an exchange, Turbolat was quite a valuable political good. With him had, it would be great if they could swap him for Li Zilong. If they couldn’t, Wang Yue could escort him back to the capital, which would be a really great, rare victory in the Ming Dynasty. As could be inferred, that would not only have the affect the lifting the spirits of the Court, but the commonfolk, too.
If they didn’t make the exchange, though, the bystanding fox would mourn the rabbit’s death; army morale was bound to go cold.
Even though Wang Yue might end up electing to exchange them, that didn’t hinder him from feeling reluctant and aggrieved, producing an ire that others could grasp.
Handing over Ming prisoners of war in exchange for the Khan’s eldest son was a hundredfold gain for the Tartars.
Seeing that everyone seated was quiet — Wang Zhi and Wang Yue in particular — and had no joy on their faces about winning the battle, Tang Fan smiled. “The old man losing his horse was not necessarily a misfortune. Following this battle, the Court will certainly begin the transfer of you two. When you arrive at a new area, you will have a new scene for you.”
His implication being that the two of them would not be remaining in Datong for much longer, so they shouldn’t worry about anything too long-term. Taking care of what was in front of them was of utmost importance.
Disregarding Wang Zhi having always wanted to return to the capital before this, even though Wang Yue wouldn’t be returning, the Court would request that he switch up defenses, in order to prevent generals on the frontier from amassing followings. This was an old standard.
It would have been better if Tang Fan hadn’t spoken. As soon as he did, the two Wangs’ moods sunk even more.
No matter what, they had been living here for over two years, and taken care of it single-handedly. Would anyone else be willing to work hard to plant trees, cultivate them well, then pass them off to someone else for no reason?
The issue of Turbolat’s exchange was to be set aside for the time being; given that Wang Yue and Wang Zhi were willing to do the exchange, they would have to draw up a few more conditions to make up for the expense. This had nothing to do with Tang Fan and Sui Zhou. They had come here purely for the case of the Weining Sealet, being unlike Guo Tang, who was a Governor that lived here. Now that the matter was done, they couldn’t remain in Datong forever, and had to return to the capital as soon as time would allow, lest people start to gossip.
That very night, Wang Yue did indeed set up a lavish banquet to specially celebrate the merits of Tang Fan, Sui Zhou, and the rest of them, in an indirect way of seeing them off.
Sui Zhou didn’t turn his head, so who knew if he had heard. His figure vanished into the mist like a shooting star.
A short moment later, a muffled sound came from in front. The array around Wang Zhi and Wei Mao subsequently stagnated.
Wang Zhi zeroed in on the opportunity, shouting, “Go!”
Wei Mao’s psyche had been tensed this whole time, prepped to be on-the-go at any time. Nearly the second Wang Zhi spoke, he promptly charged in the direction Sui Zhou had broken through from.
At some unknown time, the sound of fighting all around them gradually vanished. Hair-raisingly, the underworld soldiers half-hidden in the wind and sand also subsequently vanished, the dark nightfall switched out for the fishbelly-white of dawn on the horizon.
Wang Zhi and Wei Mao abruptly noticed that despite the sandstorm still dancing like mad, without the array’s cover, those ‘infinite troops’ that confused the eyes had vanished into nothing, the enemy’s situation gradually emerging.
In a split second, they all realized that Tang Fan had found the distant stone formation and broken it!
There were a total of eight people surrounding Wang Zhi’s group, arranged in accordance with the eight trigrams; qian, kun, zhen, xun, kan, li, gen, dui. Whenever their group tried to break free of the circle from a certain position, the two foes to the left and right of said position would join forces to help the middle person attack them, and if one was killed, a new person positioned outside would come up to fill in for them.
This unending, multiplying cycle of come-and-go — combined with the former chaos of the underworld soldiers and cover of the sandstorm — had thus created a flawless array, rigidly trapping Wang Zhi and Wei Mao there.
However, their foes did not have unlimited people to kill, and Wang Zhi’s group were not pacifists. Via a whole night’s worth of effort, the enemy now had exactly eight members remaining, no new blood to restock from the outside.
Sui Zhou had just determined a position from a voice; the direction he was attacking in was one of the links in the eight-person formation, Li Zilong. That the latter would actually show up to participate in the attack in person meant that they had indeed killed the greater part of the followers.
Thinking of all that, Wang Zhi’s spirits were greatly lifted, and he laughed as he pounced on someone beside Li Zilong. The man had been about to attack Sui Zhou while he wrangled with Li Zilong, only to be intercepted by Wang Zhi.
Without the protection of those underworld soldiers, the Society followers were no more than average people, if a little bit more skilled. Why would Wang Zhi and Wei Mao ever fear them? The three formed an offense-defense set-up, beginning to fight in close quarters with the eight-person group headed by Li Zilong.
The black night would be passing, and daybreak would be coming eventually. Alongside the appearance of that smear of fishbelly-white, the sky was getting brighter and brighter, the wind and sand that had been blowing all night finally beginning to slow their force.
That was not good news, in the Society’s opinion. Wang Zhi’s group was only three, yet they could very well kill all eight of them.
Seeing yet another companion fall, the advantage of their side gradually waning, a follower grit his teeth, then called to Li Zilong. “Second Head, this can’t go on! The Tartar army is about to attack! Are we really going to be able to capture him alive?!”
Currently, there was no longer an issue of a live capture, as the array had been broken and the other side’s confidence had been greatly bolstered. If things continued like so, would they be able to retreat intact?
Li Zilong realized at last that he had committed a strategic error.
At the start, they could have simply killed Wang Zhi, but he had thought that a live Wang Zhi would be more valuable than a dead one, so he had persistently demanded that his subordinates capture him alive, even laying down an impenetrable trap to lead the others away from him as best as possible.
Unexpectedly, Meng Cun had made a mistake on his end and failed in his task, giving Tang Fan’s group the opportunity to flee, then double back to help.
Now that the array was ruined, the success chance of capturing Wang Zhi was greatly reduced, and because they had been tied up with him on this side, they had lost their best chance to act. The combined martial forces of the other three could surprisingly match with all of them, or even turn the situation around.
Once another shichen passed, the Tartar army would go and attack. Were they to discover that the array’s effect had failed and he hadn’t captured Wang Zhi, they would certainly be furious with him, judging by their predator-like personalities…
Bringing that to mind, Li Zilong inwardly clenched his jaw, hating Tang Fan to the bone all the more. Had it not been for him breaking the stone array, this situation wouldn’t have come about tonight — to say nothing of the fact that the other had caused the death of his sworn son, Li Man.
Another follower fell, leaving only six of the eight-person formation left, and of those six, all were elite members that he had painstakingly cultured.
The White Lotus Society, which had suffered a heavy blow, could no longer withstand any further losses.
“…Retreat!” he practically spat from between the cracks in his teeth.
While the Society people slowly gained the image of drawing back, Wang Zhi’s group had also heard Li Zilong, and simply strengthened their offense intuitively. Each of them wielding a spring-gilt sabre left no cracks to leak out of, the images of blades harshly winding and weaving, the passive becoming the active.
Their target was Li Zilong.
From the demon fox case of the capital to the Weining Sealet of today, what was behind all of these suspenseful events was inseparable from the operations of the demonic priest before them. If they could catch him, the Society would certainly consider it a heavy blow, and they might be able to use that chance to pull this batch of hideously-dancing evildoers from its roots. Having thought as much, Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi thereby used all of their strength to make Li Zilong stay here.
However, since Li Zilong had been able to slip out from under the Emperor himself’s nose, even managing to complete a switcheroo at his Caishikou execution via underhanded means, how could he not have a backup move?
He peered at Wang Zhi, Sui Zhou, and Wei Mao, huffed out a cold laugh, then quickly drew away from the battle. The five remaining followers fought with their opponents, while he blew on a loud and clear whistle.
The cry of falcons was heard coming out of thin air. Large shadows promptly covered the three’s heads. They all looked up to see two huge falcons dropping down from the sky, bearing down on them without warning.
Were they to be pecked by those sharp, slightly-curved beaks, that would be no joking matter, their flesh likely to come off with the scrape. They could no longer care about the followers, raising their sabres to resist the two falcons’ surprise attack.
Meanwhile, Li Zilong’s group took this opportunity to flee.
The huge birds were clearly well-trained, their fighting abilities comparable to that of average experts. Due to the advantageous terrain of the open air, Sui Zhou and the rest inevitably became hindered in movement, only able to look on helplessly as Li Zilong led his team into vanishing from their lines of sight.
After they left, the falcons had no love for fighting, and immediately circled upwards, flying high into the sky, gradually shrinking into small black dots until no trace could be seen of them.
In truth, even without the midway interruption by the falcons, they might not have been able to actually capture Li Zilong.
As they were painfully aware of themselves, after a whole night of strenuous fighting, their physical strength was already reaching its limit. Sui Zhou was okay, as he had at least had shelter from the rain in the cave and a short rest, but Wang Zhi and Wei Mao were awful. Getting any rest aside, they had been getting drenched and fighting for the prior half of the night, and the latter half, they’d had to remain in rampant sand without falling to a disadvantage. Their opponents’ withdrawal, from another perspective, was a great aid to them, because, after a little while more, they might not have been able to hold themselves up anymore.
Sui Zhou was still cable of keeping himself upright using his sabre, panting slightly, while Wang Zhi and Wei Mao sat right on the ground. Not a bit of them wasn’t injured, cutting indescribably sorry figures while their faces were covered in grime. It was likely that if Wang Zhi went back to the city now, no one would be able to recognize him.
“We can’t rest yet,” a voice came from not far away.
The three followed the sound to see Tang Fan and Du Gui’r supporting each other as they walked over. They, too, had new injuries, looking to have suffered quite a lot when they had broken the array — but as long as they were still alive, everything was going to be okay.
Seeing that everyone was fine, they all relaxed.
Sui Zhou’s gaze on Tang Fan was even more focused, as if he wanted to confirm that he genuinely was without injury. That burning look was practically about to gain substance; how could Mister Tang not sense it?
His handsome face lightly flushed. Pretending not to see, he repeated what he had just said. “We can’t rest yet, we need to rush back to the city and make a report. The Tartars will come to attack Datong soon, and Commandant Wang needs to be informed of that in advance.”
As a border city, Datong was always in a state of war preparations, but ‘the enemy might be coming’ and ‘the enemy is coming, right now’ were two different concepts. The more sufficiently prepared they were, the greater their chances of victory would be, and the fewer casualties would come.
Wang Zhi rolled his eyes. “I can’t walk. You lot will have to be the ones to go back!”
He really couldn’t walk; that wasn’t an act. His energy was depleted, his complexion was gray, and it looked like he was approaching his outer limit. The same went for Wei Mao beside him.
Tang Fan shook his head. Ignoring his huffy words, he turned to Sui Zhou. “Guangchuan, Lu Yan is still in the cave.”
The other immediately caught his meaning. “I’ll go get him. You all start walking, I’ll see you in the city later.”
Tang Fan nodded. “Okay. Take care.”
Sui Zhou went back to find Lu Yan, and the other four went back to Datong on foot.
From the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain last night, the horses they had rode in on had long since fled to parts unknown, leaving them to walk on their two legs. It was likely that before they would be able to get back, the Tartar cavalry would arrive.
Out of a lack of choice, Wang Zhi and Wei Mao led Tang Fan and Du Gui’r along, respectively, gathered up their energy, and ran back.
Martial artists were ultimately not the same as ordinary folks, making their pace a lot quicker. If they exerted themselves, they might be able to get back to Datong before the Tartars.
On his end, Sui Zhou had Lu Yan on his back, and also caught up pretty quickly. Wang Zhi tightly clutched Tang Fan’s arm, face ashen, unable to even speak, afraid that if he expended that energy, he wouldn’t be able to get it back.
The group traveled at various paces, then ultimately arrived at the outside of Datong City a shichen after sunrise…
Only to be barred outside the gate, disallowed from coming in.
The reason was none other than that the six of them were coated in bloodstains and looked abhorrent. Even the lone woman, Du Gui’r, was no exception, being terrible to behold.
The second he saw the gate-guarding soldier looking at all of them like they were bandits as he sized them up, the originally out-of-strength Eunuch Wang instantly grew incensed. “The hell are you looking at?! I’m the Defending Supervisor of Datong, Wang Zhi! What short-sighted fucker would dare to impersonate me?! This blade of mine killed a lot of traitors last night, and if you dare to stop me, you’ll be another one!”
Tang Fan placed his hand on his forehead. Didn’t Wang Zhi say that he had no strength? Where was he getting this energy now?
As soon as the soldier heard the name Wang Zhi, the look in his eyes immediately changed. Upon closer inspection… oh no, he really was Eunuch Wang!
It was simply that Eunuch Wang was typically sharply-dressed. When had he ever had such a bedraggled appearance?
At this moment, the other didn’t even dare to wipe off Wang Zhi’s spittle that had flown onto his face, hurriedly letting them in in an ingratiating manner.
After entering the city, Wang Zhi still had to go report to Wang Yue, as only then could the order be passed down for the city to prepare for war. The rest of them brought Du Gui’r back home, having a doctor of Zhongjing Hall treat Lu Yan for his injuries while they were at it. The bandages from last night had been rushed, all of it done under pressure, and he needed better arrangements.
Upon her return to Zhongjing Hall, Doctor Du held his head and wept bitterly at seeing his daughter’s ragged state, naturally.
Idle talk was not for here. Following a period of busyness, Lu Yan was left in Zhongjing Hall to recover. Tang Fan and Sui Zhou didn’t remain for long in the Hall after getting treated, instead planning to return to the posthouse to rest.
Tang Fan was unbearably exhausted. On the road back, his steps felt floaty, as if he was walking on clouds. All of a sudden, his foot stepped on nothing, and once he snapped out of it, he realized that he had since come to be carried on someone’s back.
He blinked. “Guangchuan?”
Because he had reached the peak of exhaustion, he was forced to manually blink to avoid shutting his eyes.
“I feared you’d doze off on the walk,” said a staid voice from in front of him, the vibrations of his chest transferring to Tang Fan’s arms.
“Put me down, you’re injured too. I can still walk.” Tang Fan laughed, gently patting his shoulder.
Seeing a man carrying another man didn’t attract curiosity from passersby, as they merely took Tang Fan as having an injured foot. Mister Tang, who hadn’t been piggybacked since he was four years old, still felt a little embarrassed, though.
Sui Zhou didn’t release him, of course, continuing to hold him steady. Tang Fan was helpless — it wasn’t like he could hop off his back — so he had to go along with him.
The other man’s back was broad and warm. Regardless of how hard Tang Fan blinked, he ended up not being able to stand his strong drowsiness, and passed out at some unknown point.
His sleep was extraordinarily heavy. Let alone thunder and lightning, the Tartars besieging Datong City would likely not even rouse him.
When he opened his eyes once more, he saw familiar roofbeams overhead. His mind was a little fuzzy; it took him a very long time to realize that this was his room at Datong’s posthouse.
How long had he slept?
He rubbed his stomach. It hurt a little, which was a symptom of having been hungry for a long time. He then looked himself over; his clothes had since been changed, the inner robes all new. This wasn’t that outfit he had been wearing when they had come back.
He lifted the blanket to prepare to get out of bed, only to hear a soft knock come from outside.
“Come in.”
A posthouse worker pushed the door open, breaking out into a smile. “Oi, Sir Tan, you’ve awoken! You slept for a full two days!”
Two days?
Tang Fan was somewhat shocked, immediately recalling something more important. “The Tartars came?”
“They did, and the fighting is over. The sound of the melee could shake the sky! We at the inn could hear it, yet it didn’t rouse you! This lowly one was shocked!”
“How did the battle go?” Tang Fan quickly asked.
“It was fierce!” the worker started, his spit flying all over. “They say that when Commandant Wang just ordered for the city gates to be closed and martial law imposed, the Tartars came attacking not long after on their end, not expecting that we would long be prepared—“
Dark-faced, Tang Fan cut him off. “Get to the main point!”
The worker snapped out of it. “Ohhh, the main point is that we won!”
Tang Fan took a huge sigh of relief, still a bit too afraid to believe it. He had learned out of Meng Cun’s mouth before that the Tartars would be coming prepared this time, and Dayan Khan had been appointed as the commander, so he had feared that it wouldn’t be so easy to deal with them. “Truly?”
“Truly, and it was a big victory! Everybody says that thanks to Commandant Wang’s god-like prediction, we were ready ahead of time, else the gates would have all been open and the citizens wouldn’t have had time to escape… purportedly, he also caught that Tartar commander’s son. His name is T… Tur-something?”
Tang Fan’s brows raised high, feeling joyful at this great victory. He wanted to go to the Commandant Estate and ask, but his stomach couldn’t hold out, gurgling.
The worker quickly smiled. “Look at this memory of mine! The kitchen downstairs has food already made in it. This lowly one will bring you hot water to wash up with, so you can go eat after you’re done!”
Once freshened up, Tang Fan headed down to the dining hall enthusiastically, then caught sight of a steaming bowl of shrimp congee set upon a table. The soft white congee covered the fresh, tender, pink-and-white shrimp meat, chopped mushrooms and sausage sprinkled on top of it. Forget about eating it — the smell alone made one’s fingers greatly twitch. Next to the shrimp congee was also a stack of dressed cucumber and tofu noodles, both appetizing side dishes.
After all the blowing wind, drenching rain, suffering cold, and starvation of last night, the fresh dishes before his eyes practically seemed to be from a previous generation. Sleeping for two full days had made his stomach, deprived of even a grain of rice, issue the harshest of complaints.
He automatically gulped. For the first time in his entire life, he sat down and inhaled the food like a hungry tiger pouncing on its meal. It wasn’t until half of the congee was swallowed down that he felt his entire being reinvigorate.
The supreme joy of being human had to be exactly this!
Mister Tang sighed like someone with no promising future, smiling at the posthouse worker. “The posthouse’s craftsmanship just gets better and better! Even this congee doesn’t taste the same!”
It had almost caught up with Sui Zhou’s.
The worker smiled right back. “It’s good that you like it. Sir Sui cooked it for you himself!”
Tang Fan was taken aback. “How did he know I was waking up today?”
“He didn’t. He cooked all of your meals these past two days, so that you could eat them whenever you woke up.”
Hearing that answer, then looking at the bowl of congee, Mister Tang suddenly tasted another, different flavor.
It was sweet, and sour.
After finishing his meal, he went off to the Commandant Estate. By coincidence, not only Wang Yue was there, but Wang Zhi and Sui Zhou, as well.
Seeing that Tang Fan had arrived, Wang Zhi broke out into a mocking grin. “Anyone else would sleep for a day at most, yet you slept for two whole ones. Even the Tartar siege couldn’t wake you up! You sleep better than pigs!”
Tang Fan’s mouth twitched, thinking to himself, Of course I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you, you were able to scold someone at the gate after fighting for a whole night. That’s some absolutely astounding energy.
His eyes inadvertently met Sui Zhou’s. The two watched each other for a short moment, then Mister Tang looked away on his own initiative. “I heard you all caught Dayan Khan’s son?”
“Yes, Turbolat. His eldest.” Wang Yue was the one to answer him, stroking his beard as he smiled, pride across his whole face. “Censor Tang, this is owed to all of you heading for the Weining Sealet to break the White Lotus Society’s array, then reporting back in a timely matter. It was only then that the Ming army could cross the Sealet without worry this time, chase them down to Blackrock Cliffs, and achieve great victory. Though we couldn’t grab Dayan Khan himself, capturing his eldest son alive is fantastic! This official represents the Great Ming’s officers and Datong’s citizens when I say: thank you all!”
Saying so, he got up and gave Tang Fan a deep bow.
Reason told that despite Tang Fan having been dispatched by the Court, Wang Yue was a higher rank than him, so there was no need for him to be courteous at all. However, Wang Yue doing such a thing demonstrated that he had a good comprehension of human emotions, making it little wonder as to why someone of Wang Zhi’s personality could also get along with him.
Tang Fan hurriedly stood up to avoid this, cupping his hands with a smile. “This humble official does not deserve such, Mister Commandant. We were doing all we could in the scope of our duties; this praise from you is too much.”
It had to be said — this was a man that differed from men!
Wang Yue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, as he was also an imperial ambassador. Take a look at Guo Tang, who only ever weighed down their back legs all day long after coming to Datong, itching for them to be defeated and condemned by the Court. Things had not developed in the way he had hoped, though; on the flipside, Wang Yue and Wang Zhi had established a huge merit. Guo Tang had simply taken an absence of illness at the celebration feast, not even showing his face, as he was likely staying in his Estate to write memorials, secretly preparing to shade them.
As for Tang Fan’s group, the instant they came, they had been a great help, and had even hurried to give an advance warning so that Wang Yue could make full preparations. After it was done, they didn’t even take the credit for themselves, plenty humble.
What a shame it was that treachers currently held power in Court. Talents like them would not be reused, but be thrown to the side, while more people like Guo Tang would receive promotions.
Wang Yue found it beyond lamentable, but he put a smile on his face. “There’s no need to be modest, Censor Tang. As you were resting in the posthouse these past two days and missed the celebration feast, you’ll be made up for it today. Come and have dinner at the Commandant Estate tonight — this official happens to have people preparing a banquet of good food and wine, so you must not refuse!”
With that much said, Tang Fan couldn’t reject this, giving a laugh. “There’s no hurry for the meal. However, is Turbolat still in the city?”
Wang Yue nodded. “I ordered for him to be locked up.”
“It can’t be that the Tartars have simply allowed this, making no fuss?”
The other laughed. “How could they have not? He’s Dayan Khan’s eldest, I’ve heard; courageous, good at fighting, of generally good repute amongst the clan, and always quite popular. Dayan Khan had only gotten away due to the protection of his bodyguards. After getting away from Blackrock Cliffs, he sent messengers over in want to ransom back Turbolat.”
Tang Fan was overjoyed. “That’s great! Li Zilong, the agent behind the demonic fox case, is now the Tartars’ State Master. You can add him to the conditions of the exchange so that they deliver the demon to us!”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he said that, the expressions of everyone present turned a bit unsightly.
Being bright, he immediately came to a realization. “You already brought that term up?”
Wang Yue smiled painfully. “Yes. We were discussing this right before you arrived. The Tartars relayed news that Li Zilong had used the chaos to flee, his whereabouts unknown. Even they can’t find him.”
“What a load of fucking bullshit!” Wang Zhi slapped the arm of his chair, clearly stifling a stomachful of fire. “He colluded with them, helped them set up an array and slaughter the Ming army at the Weining Sealet, and he just runs because he wants to? Are the Tartars all dead?! Do they not have a single bit of vigilance?!”
“That isn’t an impossibility, actually,” Sui Zhou said. “They wanted to catch you alive then, so they must have had some other plan. After their failure and escape, even if they returned to the Tartars, the latter would not easily let things lie. Furthermore, the Tartars have lost the fight, their forces took a great loss, and Turbolat is in our hands, so it will likely be difficult for them to make any sort of large-scale invasion for a few years. In the Society’s view, the Tartars have lost their worth for right now.”
That said, as long as Wang Zhi thought about how mighty he ordinarily was, yet had been stuck in the Weining Sealet for a whole night, disheveled to his upper limits, he couldn’t swallow down his anger.
Wang Yue sighed. “This isn’t the trickiest part. The Tartars have many Ming soldiers captured, and claim that they will exchange them for Turbolat.”
Tang Fan was surprised. “How did they get Ming soldiers?”
Generally, whenever the Tartars captured Great Ming citizens, they would take them as spoils of war, then divide them up amongst various tribes to be slaves and ordered around for hard labor. As for those strong-bodied Ming soldiers, the Tartars would believe them to be elements of instability and kill them, following the same sort of rapid expansion that the Mongolian cavalry once had.
“From the soldiers that went to scout the path at the Sealet the three times before,” Wang Yue answered. “They left a bunch of them, not killing them, and now they’re offering an exchange.”
Tang Fan was quiet. He could understand Wang Yue’s predicament.
When it came to an exchange, Turbolat was quite a valuable political good. With him had, it would be great if they could swap him for Li Zilong. If they couldn’t, Wang Yue could escort him back to the capital, which would be a really great, rare victory in the Ming Dynasty. As could be inferred, that would not only have the affect the lifting the spirits of the Court, but the commonfolk, too.
If they didn’t make the exchange, though, the bystanding fox would mourn the rabbit’s death; army morale was bound to go cold.
Even though Wang Yue might end up electing to exchange them, that didn’t hinder him from feeling reluctant and aggrieved, producing an ire that others could grasp.
Handing over Ming prisoners of war in exchange for the Khan’s eldest son was a hundredfold gain for the Tartars.
Seeing that everyone seated was quiet — Wang Zhi and Wang Yue in particular — and had no joy on their faces about winning the battle, Tang Fan smiled. “The old man losing his horse was not necessarily a misfortune. Following this battle, the Court will certainly begin the transfer of you two. When you arrive at a new area, you will have a new scene for you.”
His implication being that the two of them would not be remaining in Datong for much longer, so they shouldn’t worry about anything too long-term. Taking care of what was in front of them was of utmost importance.
Disregarding Wang Zhi having always wanted to return to the capital before this, even though Wang Yue wouldn’t be returning, the Court would request that he switch up defenses, in order to prevent generals on the frontier from amassing followings. This was an old standard.
It would have been better if Tang Fan hadn’t spoken. As soon as he did, the two Wangs’ moods sunk even more.
No matter what, they had been living here for over two years, and taken care of it single-handedly. Would anyone else be willing to work hard to plant trees, cultivate them well, then pass them off to someone else for no reason?
The issue of Turbolat’s exchange was to be set aside for the time being; given that Wang Yue and Wang Zhi were willing to do the exchange, they would have to draw up a few more conditions to make up for the expense. This had nothing to do with Tang Fan and Sui Zhou. They had come here purely for the case of the Weining Sealet, being unlike Guo Tang, who was a Governor that lived here. Now that the matter was done, they couldn’t remain in Datong forever, and had to return to the capital as soon as time would allow, lest people start to gossip.
That very night, Wang Yue did indeed set up a lavish banquet to specially celebrate the merits of Tang Fan, Sui Zhou, and the rest of them, in an indirect way of seeing them off.
