Yuan Baifu nodded at the soldiers outside, ordering them to fetch more fodder. Once they left, he entered. He immediately saw the horse lying on the ground. This horse had been with him for four years, since it was two. Together they had campaigned across the land, and many times it had carried him safely from deadly peril.

Yuan Baifu squatted down, stroked its smooth mane, and gazed at the bandaged leg. He stared for a few seconds, then untied the bandage. Standing up, he drew his long blade and, without hesitation, slashed the wound hard.

The mafeisan kept the horse unconscious, but it convulsed violently, its big head crashing against the fence, startling the other horses. Pain made its breathing rougher. Yuan Baifu watched coldly. When the horse’s struggles eased, he crouched again and re-tied the bandage.

*

The next morning, Xiao Rong rose early to find Qu Yunmie. According to the prearranged plan, Qu Yunmie was to go into battle that day despite his wounds. Everyone could see he was forcing himself, but sheer willpower pushed the Xianbei back another mile.

…

Xiao Rong entered, found his seat, and sat. Soon Yu Shaoxie arrived. He had been even more anxious these past days than Xiao Rong, for while Xiao Rong at least knew Qu Yunmie’s whereabouts, Yu Shaoxie had no idea if Yu Shaocheng was safe. They had to wait for scouts to bring word back.

Yu Shaoxie sat down and asked the nearby guard, “What’s for breakfast?”

The guard replied, “Today there is meat broth. The cook set aside portions early for you two, kept warm on the stove.”

Xiao Rong asked in surprise, “They slaughtered a sheep in the morning?”

The guard shook his head. “No. This morning the vet’s diagnosis was found to be wrong. General Yuan’s horse’s leg was indeed broken. It would not live long. So General Yuan ordered it slaughtered and cooked, so the men could have a hearty meal.”

Xiao Rong: “…”

A horse beyond healing, slaughtered for food—such was always the way in the army. Whether or not horse meat tasted good, after some time in the army, any meat was fragrant.

Xiao Rong had tasted horse before. Honestly, he didn’t find it as bad as others said—at least it was edible.

Today though, he had no desire to touch it. He didn’t know whether it was because he disliked eating meat in the morning, or because the guard had said it was Yuan Baifu’s decision. Either way, he had no appetite for it.

Yu Shaoxie didn’t care. After finishing a bowl of meat broth, he was so full that he directly let out a burp. While Xiao Rong ate the pickled vegetables on his side, he suddenly turned his head and asked Qu Yunmie, “If your horse was injured, could I also taste it?”

Qu Yunmie: “…”

He stayed silent for two seconds, then said, “I would find you its brother, or one of its blood relatives, and you could taste them.”

Xiao Rong: “…”

He withdrew his gaze, but after a moment he couldn’t help but glance at Qu Yunmie again.

Heh, not a bad answer.

…

At first it was a simple and brutal plan. Now it has become a complicated and brutal plan.

No matter how precisely it was executed, it still couldn’t change the plan’s core: Qu Yunmie would personally climb the city wall, rely entirely on his own strength to advance, and finally open the city gates, letting the Northern Army rush in for a massacre.

The Xianbei people didn’t know the Northern Army was so cunning. They didn’t realize they had already fallen into a trap, but they knew that even without strategy, under these circumstances, within ten days the Northern Army would, in every sense, be at the gates of Shengle City.

Qu Yunmie’s acting turned out surprisingly good. His portrayal of a spent force was very convincing, so the Xianbei gathered together, urgently discussing what to do next. Should they risk everything, send out all their troops, and fight the Northern Army in a battle of life and death?

The King of the North appeared to be overwhelmed by rage. If they provoked him a little more, perhaps they wouldn’t even need to act—the King of the North might drive himself to death.

However, they no longer had any other bones. What else could make the King of the North lose his composure?

Han Qing’s strategy gave them inspiration. The King of the North didn’t care about insults, he cared about his family members.

Wasn’t this convenient? Although they no longer had the bones of the Qu family, they did have Qu Yunmie’s enemies.

At these words, one man’s face stiffened.

Murong Jian, one of the Murong clan nobles, was a trusted aide of Murong Kui, the Xianbei general. He was his retainer, childhood companion, and he had even married Murong Kui’s younger sister.

Murong Kui and Murong Jian were not blood brothers, but their bond was closer than brothers. Once it was decided to use him, the other nobles immediately made a plan. They would have Murong Jian stand at the front of the army tomorrow and loudly recount how he had personally killed Qu Yunmie’s elder brother in the past, and he would say it with arrogance. If that wasn’t enough, he would also loudly insult the late Qu Dong. That way, there was no worry Qu Yunmie wouldn’t take the bait.

When the bones of his parents had been desecrated, Qu Yunmie had been furious. If his dead elder brother was insulted by his murderer, he would definitely be unable to endure it. After all, Qu Yunmie didn’t even remember what his parents looked like, but throughout his growth, Qu Dong had always been there.

The more they thought about it, the more they liked this plan. Anyway, their relationship with the Northern Army and the King of the North was already one of life and death. Offending them a little more didn’t matter.

If by luck they won, that meant Heaven had spared them. If they lost, then they would send their children and the Emperor away.

The Emperor only heard that he could live, so of course he nodded immediately. The other nobles, considering themselves greatly righteous, declared they were willing to die heroically, regardless of what the unwilling thought.

After the meeting ended, Murong Jian clenched his fists and followed Murong Kui back. As soon as the gate closed, Murong Jian immediately lost control and roared, “No one asked for my opinion! Why must I go to die for them! Qu Yunmie will kill me on the spot. This isn’t a feasible plan—they just want my life!”

He displayed great anger, but Murong Kui knew that in truth he was terrified. Who could blame him? Even the nobles had said that winning was a matter of luck, and the nine-in-ten possibility was that they would lose. Losing meant Murong Jian’s death.

Murong Kui gripped his shoulders tightly, trying to calm him down. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you die!”

Murong Jian looked at him, and Murong Kui stared back into his eyes. “The others only want to protect their own children, and His Majesty only wants to protect himself. This group are cowards! They don’t deserve to carry on the bloodline of the Murong clan! You and I, we are the ones worth keeping alive. Even if living becomes unbearably painful, we must endure it!”

Murong Jian was stunned. “What do you mean?”

Murong Kui released him and took a step back. “In the past, the Northern people groveled before us, kowtowing and begging for mercy. Now we must do the same to them. I know you don’t want to bow your head to the Northern people, but remember, this is temporary. The Murong clan will never be anyone’s slave. We are the true masters. We hold Heaven’s mandate of imperial power. All those who humiliated us will have their bones broken and become fertilizer for the grasslands. So I will survive at all costs, even if the cost is betraying the Murong clan. I will kneel at Qu Yunmie’s feet, obedient like livestock, until I find the chance to cut off his head.”

Murong Jian said, “You mean… Betrayal…”

Murong Kui replied, “I will give him the Emperor. If that isn’t enough, I still have other things that could move him.”

Murong Jian’s breathing suddenly quickened. To hand over the Emperor personally—this was no ordinary betrayal, this was something that would make every Xianbei hate them to the bone.

Still… he was willing to do it.

The Murong clan had risen to power by killing the previous Emperor and even wiping out the entire royal family. Now the Xianbei faced life and death. Whether the Xianbei would even exist in the future was uncertain, so why should he care what other Xianbei thought?

Moreover, Murong Kui was right. Surviving in humiliation was harder than dying. That was what a Xianbei warrior should do.

Murong Jian and Murong Kui reached an instant agreement. The two then began planning how to avoid tomorrow’s death trap. Murong Kui needed help, and Murong Jian didn’t want to die.

…

They discussed for a long time, until the moon was high before Murong Jian finally left. Murong Kui then thought through more details, and afterward, escorted by his personal guards, he went to the army camp.

Both of them were full of worries, for they didn’t know if Murong Jian could escape alive the next day. Soon they would realize they had worried too much.

Neither they nor the Xianbei had a next day left.

…

When Murong Kui went to the army camp outside the city, a sharp point just happened to poke out from one part of Shengle’s city wall.

It was the spearhead of the Snow-Drinking Vengeance Spear, covered by Qu Yunmie with a piece of black cloth so it would not reflect light.

The spearhead appeared first, then Qu Yunmie’s hands gripped the wall. Holding his breath, he listened intently to the surrounding sounds. After confirming no one was nearby, he drew in a breath, lifted himself, and flipped onto the wall.

His movements were light, but in the still night even that made a faint sound. He looked around warily, then pressed against the battlement and pulled out the bird whistle Xiao Rong had hung around his neck.

Two short notes and one long—it was the call of a shrike, and it was the signal to advance.

If someone had passed by, they would have noticed something odd about this part of the wall. When the clouds parted and moonlight shone down, they would have seen that five men were hanging on the wall, one after another in a straight line, motionless, as if they were decorations of the wall itself.

…

Hearing the bird call, the five men finally sighed in relief. They didn’t have their Lord’s strength to keep clinging to the wall. If he hadn’t blown the whistle, they would soon have fallen.

Climbing the wall hadn’t been as difficult as they imagined. It had been like climbing a tree, and they had scrambled up swiftly. Not because they were especially skilled, but because Qu Yunmie had given them help.

This was a rammed-earth wall. If it had been built of stone bricks, there would have been cracks to grip, and it wouldn’t have been so difficult to climb. Rammed earth had been used precisely to prevent climbing, and with enough work, this kind of wall could be as hard as stone.

That only applied if one didn’t encounter someone like Qu Yunmie. Afraid the others wouldn’t manage, at every step he gouged out a crack with his bare hands, then smashed it with his elbow, and finally brushed away the loose earth. In this way, he created footholds for them to step on.

…

When the last man climbed up, Qu Yunmie started walking north. After only a few steps, a nearby door suddenly opened.

It was likely a storage room for weapons on the wall. Qu Yunmie hadn’t expected anyone there. He had no time to think. He whipped out the Snow-Drinking Vengeance Spear from his back and thrust forward—

The spear pierced the man’s throat. He couldn’t cry out, only gurgle as blood bubbled in his throat.

Fortunately, he had been close. If he had been farther away, even Qu Yunmie couldn’t have stopped him from screaming.

The five men behind him exchanged looks. In the blink of an eye, their Lord had killed a man without needing their cooperation.

What exactly were they here for?

This question stayed unanswered even as they neared the North Gate. Along the way, few surprises occurred. Most were handled by Qu Yunmie himself. Even the few killed by the five men seemed unnecessary—without them, their Lord could still have done it.

Everything went smoothly until they were close to the North Gate. Then pursuers finally appeared, because patrolling soldiers had discovered the corpses.

Qu Yunmie immediately quickened his pace. Reaching the gatehouse, he didn’t bother with the stairs but leaped straight down. When the five men above looked, they saw that Qu Yunmie was already slaughtering the guards at the gate.

Not fighting—slaughtering.

The five men: “…”

They hurried down to join the battle. As the guards were nearly all killed and the pursuers from above were about to arrive, Qu Yunmie roared, “Open the gate!”

At the same time, he pulled out the bird whistle and blew with all his strength. The sharp sound pierced the night sky, startling the birds and beasts in the forest and waking the entire city of Xianbei in their sleep.

The five men finally understood their purpose. One man couldn’t open the city gate, it required several working together. Even five weren’t enough. It needed ten men to push it open.

That did not matter, because those who came were not just the five of them—there were fourteen thousand outside.

With the combined effort of the five, the gate opened a crack. The pursuers above saw this and nearly burst their eyes in rage, but it was too late. The heavy gate groaned louder and louder, because the reinforcements outside had arrived. Hundreds of hands pressed on the gate, pushing together. The slow process suddenly accelerated. Yu Shaocheng was the first to charge in. Laughing loudly, he rushed straight at the pursuers.

Dongfang Jin and the others weren’t as reckless as Yu Shaocheng. They first sought out Qu Yunmie, confirmed he was unharmed, and handed him his horse.

Qu Yunmie didn’t mount immediately. From his chest, he drew out a strip of white cloth. It was what Xiao Rong had distributed to all the soldiers, and Qu Yunmie had kept one for himself. He had forgotten why he hadn’t used it before, but clearly keeping it until now was right—today was the true battle of vengeance.

Leisurely, he wrapped the cloth around his hand, starting from the tiger’s mouth, and covering the small scratches from climbing the wall. Once it was tightly bound, Qu Yunmie raised his head, looked at the fierce fighting not far away, and slowly smiled.

“Go. Kill them all. Just remember not to destroy everything here, because from this moment on, this city is ours.”

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

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