Chapter 189: South

"Huu..."

For once, Garrison Commander Zheng had managed to take a proper bath.

Water hot enough to sting slightly covered everything below his neck.

His skin gradually flushed red.

It felt as though all the exhaustion accumulated over these days was being washed away.

Ever since Li Fusheng forced the commoners of the Capital Region to attack Upper Capital that day the city's gates had remained tightly shut.

The Zhenbei Army had made no further attempt to storm the walls.

They had even stopped constructing siege equipment.

For once both sides maintained an unusual kind of "peaceful understanding."

Naturally, from morning until evening, Yan soldiers still went beneath the walls every day and cursed the defenders.

The Qian soldiers above immediately cursed back.

Both sides stayed outside effective arrow range.

And since the Qian did not dare open the gates and charge out everyone maintained the civilized rule of:

Gentlemen move their mouths, not their hands.

The Qian above shouted:

"YAN DOGS!

"YAN BARBARIANS!"

The Yan below answered:

"QIAN PIGS!

"BALL-LESS BASTARDS!"

Zheng Fan had even ridden over specifically to watch once.

Truthfully the scene carried an uncanny resemblance to later-era internet arguments where people from different regions hurled stereotypes at one another.

Unfortunately after listening for a while, Zheng Fan grew bored.

They kept repeating the same handful of insults.

The men themselves never seemed tired of it.

Garrison Commander Zheng, on the other hand, began wondering whether he should someday teach Yan troops how to sing challenge songs.

Write a few catchy songs filled with insults.

Have everyone sing them together.

More imposing.

And it would make everyone seem cultured too.

Zheng Fan sat inside the bathing barrel.

Siniang scrubbed his back.

The two had long since become accustomed to one another.

Especially in this respect.

Siniang knew perfectly well what degree of pressure and rhythm Zheng Fan liked.

Even a simple back scrub could leave Garrison Commander Zheng feeling as though he were floating among the clouds.

"Master.

"Liang Cheng came earlier.

"Li Fusheng has ordered everyone to begin packing tonight."

Zheng Fan nodded.

This city could not be taken.

Earlier, by seizing West Wind Crossing and taking the initiative, they had left Upper Capital standing naked before this Yan force.

But several days had already passed.

By now, the Qian troops across the river should nearly have finished circling around.

Relief armies from different parts of Qian should also be arriving.

In fact, just yesterday, scouts reported that several Qian relief forces had gathered southwest of Upper Capital.

They had even constructed a fortified camp.

At least those people possessed some self-awareness.

They had not dared raise their banners and charge directly beneath the walls to fight the Yan.

Instead they were waiting for more relief troops to arrive.

Truthfully unless there was absolutely no alternative, ancient Emperors rarely wanted to issue a "call to rescue the sovereign."

First the moment such an order went out, it represented a collapse in imperial prestige.

Everyone suddenly realized:

Oh.

So the old Emperor is no different from Wang Er-Mazi at the entrance to our village.

If he loses a fight outside, he still has to call everyone over to help.

Second a call to rescue the sovereign gave local powers a perfectly legitimate excuse to expand.

Even if the immediate crisis passed the regional forces enlarged in the process would not disappear quickly.

At best one could call it drinking poison to quench thirst.

"Sigh.

"I still have no idea where the Marquis of Zhenbei and Marquis of Jingnan took the main force."

The Blind Man had reported the situation to Zheng Fan.

But Zheng Fan could not guess where the main army had gone either.

Still since Li Fusheng had already begun preparing to withdraw, Garrison Commander Zheng—who had developed a degree of war-weariness—was perfectly happy to accept it.

Marching and fighting really was exhausting.

He had not even done needlework in ages.

"Siniang.

"You must be tired too."

Zheng Fan reached out and stroked Siniang's hand.

Logically speaking a woman who spent years doing needlework should have rough hands.

Yet Siniang's hands remained forever smooth.

Soft and supple.

With just a hint of warmth.

And beneath that warmth a perfectly measured coolness.

"Master.

"This servant isn't tired.

"Being able to serve Master is this servant's good fortune."

By now, Zheng Fan had developed a certain immunity to flattery from the Blind Man and the others.

But words like these from Siniang still pleased him immensely.

It once again proved one thing.

Men were all pig trotters.

"Siniang.

"Come in and bathe with me."

Splash...

Water rippled.

Steam drifted upward.

After the bath, Zheng Fan changed into new clothes found inside this Qian estate.

Siniang had altered them.

They fit perfectly.

Unfortunately the moment armor went over them the pleasure dropped considerably.

Still, Zheng Fan had long since become accustomed to "fearing death."

No matter how unwilling he felt he put on the heavy armor anyway.

He even tucked his "son" against his chest.

The place Zheng Fan currently occupied was a farming estate in the Capital Region.

It stood not far from the Yan camp.

Today he had indulged himself in a little abuse of authority.

Zheng Fan left the bathing room.

Siniang still needed a little more time inside.

Outside—

Fan Li waited.

The little sword attendant sat on his shoulder.

The girl remained disguised as a boy.

When she looked toward Zheng Fan there was no obvious hatred in her eyes.

Whether this girl truly possessed a natural Sword Embryo, Zheng Fan did not know.

But with this temperament once she grew up, she would unquestionably become formidable.

Master had gone out to bathe.

Naturally, security could not be neglected.

Three hundred riders guarded the estate outside.

But the moment Zheng Fan stepped through the estate gate and prepared to stretch he saw a woman's figure in the distance.

Some Green Willow Fortress cavalrymen immediately drew bows and nocked arrows.

Others formed ranks and began circling toward both flanks.

Inspired by the Zhenbei Army's method of dealing with Shatuo Queshi, Zheng Fan had specifically ordered Liang Cheng to train their men in how to hunt down experts.

One could not exactly accuse these riders of being overly suspicious.

At present, the Capital Region had been devastated.

Many Qian commoners had already fled with their entire families once the Yan arrived.

Then, several days earlier, Li Fusheng used Qian civilians' lives to attack the city.

Any remaining hope among those still watching vanished instantly.

Large numbers began fleeing south.

Interestingly enough after Yan rode south the region of Qian that suffered the greatest damage was neither the Three Frontiers nor Chu Commandery, Beihe Commandery, or Xishan Commandery.

Instead it was the Capital Region itself.

Which meant at a time like this for a woman an extremely beautiful woman to suddenly appear here while dressed neatly, without even the slightest sign of grime or disorder was deeply abnormal.

It was like placing a gold ingot in the middle of a crowded street while no one dared pick it up.

Every inch of it screamed:

Something is wrong.

Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes.

He tried to make out the woman's face.

The distance was somewhat too great.

Other than a faint sense of familiarity he could not see clearly.

Still inside the Capital Region how many women could possibly make him feel familiar?

"So... do all people who use swords have something wrong with their brains?"

Zheng Fan directed the question toward the little sword attendant sitting on Fan Li's shoulder.

The girl nodded.

"I used to say that to Master all the time."

On this subject the large one and the small one reached complete agreement.

Baili Xianglan had come.

She had told Zheng Fan she would leave the city and find him.

And now, she genuinely had.

Then, one sentence from the little sword attendant finally made Zheng Fan understand something.

The girl said, "She was fairly close with my Master."

So it had never been because of Zheng Fan's "look" that she stubbornly wanted to kill him.

It was because of Yuan Zhenxing—

Qian's Second Sword.

"Oh.

"So it was all a misunderstanding," Zheng Fan said.

The little sword attendant looked curious.

"My Master wasn't killed by you?"

Zheng Fan nodded.

"I wasn't the one who loosed the arrow.

"The fatal wound on your Master's chest came from a barbarian soldier under me named Tuoza.

"Unfortunately—he already died in battle at West Wind Crossing.

"So your Master's vengeance has already been fulfilled."

The little sword attendant's mouth slowly opened into an "O."

Then she said, "I used to hear people say Yan men were barbaric.

"I also heard Yan men were straightforward.

"Turns out a Yan man can be as quietly rotten as you."

Without meaning to Garrison Commander Zheng had once again blackened the reputation of Yan.

But Zheng Fan felt not the slightest embarrassment.

He looked toward Liang Cheng ahead.

At that moment, Liang Cheng looked back.

A silent conversation began and ended.

Zheng Fan asked:

Can we handle her?

They had brought three hundred riders out for this bath.

Liang Cheng's response was:

No problem.

Zheng Fan relaxed.

There was no reason to guard against a thief for a thousand days.

If he could accept some losses now and leave this woman's life behind then at least afterward he would not need to mobilize such an absurd escort every time he wanted a bath.

However, at that moment another figure appeared behind Baili Xianglan.

A man.

He held an iron sword.

His steps looked somewhat unsteady.

Almost as though he were drunk.

Zheng Fan looked at the little sword attendant.

He pointed ahead.

"Don't tell me..."

The girl reached down and rubbed Fan Li's enormous skull.

"Baili Jian is back."

Three hundred cavalry could probably handle one Baili Xianglan without too much trouble.

This was open ground.

A swordsman's sword was indeed terrifying.

But a swordsman's physical body was not as resilient as that of a pure Martial Artist.

But Baili Xianglan plus Baili Jian.

Zheng Fan's heart became somewhat less certain.

"You're finished," the little sword attendant said cheerfully.

At that moment, Fan Li laughed too.

Then he lifted his axe.

And placed the blade directly in front of the little sword attendant sitting on his shoulder.

The girl angrily smacked Fan Li's skull several times.

"I was blind!

"I misjudged you!"

Fan Li continued smiling with simple honesty.

The axe moved even closer.

Ahead the Baili siblings stopped.

The cavalry forming a perimeter also drew their reins.

Siniang emerged from her bath at last.

Because she had also reapplied her disguise she had taken somewhat longer.

Seeing the scene before her, she looked surprised.

"This really does look like something from a movie.

"This servant should find Master a chair."

And with that Siniang genuinely walked back inside and carried out a large armchair for Zheng Fan.

He had no idea what wood it was made from.

The craftsmanship was somewhat crude.

But once Zheng Fan sat down and crossed one leg he unexpectedly carried the flavor of some sinister factory eunuch.

The villain's chair.

The villain's hostage.

The villain's cannon-fodder soldiers gathered around him.

And across the way a sword-wielding brother and sister.

The woman beautiful and pure.

The man disheveled, half-drunk.

They looked like a perfect copy of the protagonist group from some classic wuxia film.

The image could hardly have been more archetypal.

And Baili Jian despite appearing disheveled really did possess a faint Tony Leung sort of feeling.

Zheng Fan's expression remained calm.

Inside he was somewhat panicked.

He instinctively wanted to bite his fingernails.

Siniang thoughtfully placed a handful of sunflower seeds in his palm first.

So Zheng Fan began cracking seeds instead.

Baili Jian stopped walking.

Baili Xianglan continued forward.

After covering some distance she stopped as well.

Her gaze fell upon the little sword attendant sitting on Fan Li's shoulder.

"Give her to us.

"You may leave."

Clearly, in the eyes of the Baili siblings the little sword attendant's life was far more valuable than Zheng Fan's.

And neither sibling truly regarded these three hundred cavalry as much of a threat.

"Fine."

Zheng Fan agreed extraordinarily quickly.

Then added, "Once we return to camp, we'll release her.

"We Yan people always keep our word.

"One spit—one nail!"

Baili Xianglan frowned slightly.

Clearly, although she had not interacted with Zheng Fan often his image inside her mind was not especially trustworthy.

She raised her sword.

Pointed it toward Zheng Fan.

"Hand her over."

Yuan Zhenxing had been a muddled fool.

A man who was clearly an excellent swordsman yet somehow lived his entire life in utter confusion and poverty.

But he had always kept the little sword attendant beside him.

That alone showed how deeply Yuan Zhenxing valued her.

Zheng Fan could roughly guess what "Sword Embryo" meant.

Something like a naturally gifted innate physique.

When she practiced swordsmanship in the future she would accomplish twice the result with half the effort.

"Then there's nothing to discuss."

Zheng Fan shook his head.

Handing over the hostage first was impossible.

Garrison Commander Zheng did not possess particularly high moral standards himself.

So naturally he did not place especially high faith in anyone else's moral standards either.

At that moment, Baili Jian raised his iron sword.

He lifted his head.

The cloudiness in his eyes gradually disappeared.

Replacing it was clarity.

From a purely personal perspective, Zheng Fan disliked building a stage for other people to show off.

Unfortunately the other side genuinely possessed the capital to show off.

This world contained Martial Artists.

Magic.

Battle qi.

Cultivation.

All of it gave even deeper meaning to the saying:

A knight uses martial strength to violate prohibitions.

Both sides faced each other in silence.

Fan Li's axe remained in front of the little sword attendant like a gun pressed against a hostage's temple.

"They're gathering momentum," Siniang said.

"Charging their ultimate moves?" Zheng Fan asked.

Siniang hesitated.

In this atmosphere such a thoroughly modern phrase ruined the mood somewhat.

Still she nodded.

"Master is wise."

Swordsmen pursued sword qi like a rainbow.

Unlike pure Martial Artists, they could not bathe freely inside a sea of soldiers.

So they placed even greater emphasis on the terrifying destructive power they could unleash in a very short span after drawing their swords.

Clearly, the siblings were preparing to attack.

After all being lucky enough to encounter one idiot expert like Yuan Zhenxing was already difficult.

No one should expect to encounter another.

Anything Siniang could see—

Liang Cheng naturally saw as well.

Immediately fifty cavalry peeled away and began moving to surround Baili Xianglan.

The remaining riders surged toward Baili Jian.

The most ideal result would be killing one first then dealing with the other.

Naturally, the losses among their own troops would be severe.

But that was not the concern right now.

The real question was whether these three hundred cavalry could hold back two first-rate swordsmen of the age one of whom was faintly regarded as the foremost swordsman beneath Heaven.

Just as both sides had reached the point of exploding a new formation appeared from the southwest.

Several hundred cavalry rode in front.

Behind them followed more than a thousand infantry.

Their leader had long arms like an ape.

A long beard hung from his face.

And he carried a spear.

"MASTER BAILI, DO NOT WORRY!

"OLD FIFTH HAN OF BEIHE COMMANDERY HAS COME TO ASSIST!"

Old Fifth Han?

Sitting in his armchair, Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes and looked over.

That man looked extremely familiar.

Only after a moment did he remember.

Wasn't this one of the Qian generals from the army Li Fusheng had crushed outside Chuzhou City?

At the time—

Zheng Fan had already judged him to be a large fish.

Unfortunately the fish had been too fierce.

So Zheng Fan had not dared cast the hook.

Old Fifth Han had arrived with nearly two thousand cavalry and infantry.

Truthfully his luck had been atrocious.

After his force was scattered outside Chuzhou City, he gathered a portion of the survivors and retreated to Beihe Commandery.

Most of the soldiers under him were Beihe's Dare-to-Fight Troops.

Besides his own base and his father-in-law were both in Beihe Commandery.

Who could have expected that immediately after leading his surviving troops home he would witness his father-in-law, the Military Commissioner of Beihe Commandery, have his army smashed apart by Li Bao?

Well.

Wonderful.

As the man's son-in-law, Old Fifth Han immediately picked up his father-in-law and the two began fleeing south together.

Li Bao was still racing Li Fusheng at that time.

Naturally, he chased with everything he had.

But Old Fifth Han was genuinely capable.

The quality of his troops was inferior to Yan's.

Yet his personal ability was real.

He somehow managed to escort his father-in-law across the Bian River.

They had only just crossed and intended to rest near West Wind Crossing.

At the same time, his father-in-law wanted to submit a memorial to the Emperor admitting fault and begging for another chance.

What incredible timing.

Li Fusheng launched his great forced march arrived and immediately attacked West Wind Crossing.

At the time, Old Fifth Han and his father-in-law were actually inside the military camp there.

When Yan troops broke in and the situation collapsed—

Old Fifth Han once again hauled his father-in-law away and ran for his life.

This time they also picked up a supervising eunuch and an Assistant Minister from the Ministry of War who had come to deliver an imperial edict.

Upper Capital had already closed its gates.

They could not enter.

So Old Fifth Han simply led the entire group around the capital and continued south.

Using his father-in-law's status plus the authority of the supervising eunuch and the Assistant Minister of War—

Old Fifth Han quickly gathered several relief armies.

In the blink of an eye he became a military chief again.

Earlier, one of his scouts reported that Baili Jian had returned.

Old Fifth Han immediately selected a force and hurried over to place himself at Baili Jian's disposal.

After all—

Baili Jian was the Crown Prince's martial instructor.

His status was exalted.

If Old Fifth Han could form a connection with him the benefits for his future would be enormous.

Old Fifth Han had already understood something.

This Yan invasion would not destroy the State of Qian.

But countless civil and military officials were going to fall because of it.

Wouldn't that make this precisely the opportunity for Old Fifth Han to rise?

So as a bootlicker he was extremely diligent.

Unfortunately the instant Liang Cheng saw Old Fifth Han leading Qian troops over he relaxed inwardly.

The momentum Baili Jian and Baili Xianglan had just gathered also dispersed.

At once the brother and sister sheathed their swords.

Without the slightest hesitation they began running toward Upper Capital.

They did not fly on swords.

But the speed of two swordsmen sprinting across open ground was still astonishing.

Old Fifth Han stared blankly.

What the hell was going on?

Then, he suddenly realized something.

He cursed immediately, "SON OF A WHORE!

"I MUST'VE HAD MY BRAIN COATED IN PIG FAT!"

The ground began trembling.

Formation after formation of Zhenbei Army cavalry appeared.

The movement caused by Old Fifth Han mobilizing Qian troops could never have escaped the attention of the Yan camp opposite.

The Zhenbei Army had reacted immediately.

And the man leading this force was none other than Li Fusheng.

After suppressing himself for several days he had finally found something to bite.

"FUCKING HELL!

"I WASN'T EVEN PLANNING TO BOTHER CLEANING UP THESE SCRAP TROOPS.

"AND NOW THESE SCRAPS HAVE THE GUTS TO CLIMB ON MY HEAD AND START TROUBLE?

"THE TIGER DOESN'T ROAR FOR A FEW DAYS AND YOU REALLY THINK I'M A SICK CAT?

"CHARGE!

"CRUSH THEM!"

At that moment, Fan Li lowered his axe.

The little sword attendant's expression looked rather ugly.

Garrison Commander Zheng who had been tense the entire time finally relaxed.

His body softened slightly as he leaned back against the armchair.

For a moment he genuinely acquired that languid, sinister air of a palace eunuch superintendent.

Zheng Fan pointed forward.

Then said to the little sword attendant, "They ran away."

The girl remained silent.

Her expression was gloomy.

As though she were thinking about something deeply.

At last, she spoke.

"I suddenly feel..."

"Feel what?" Zheng Fan asked.

"That unlucky idiot of a Master I had... was actually kind of adorable."

Zheng Fan clicked his tongue.

Then nodded.

"He was."

(End of Chapter)