Lei Jingzhe dared not underestimate the situation. With no time to dodge, he could only raise his blade to block. The arrow struck the sword with a loud “vwang,” sending a jolt up his arm, numbing it entirely. Acting decisively, he spurred his horse past Zhou Gui, intending to charge through the city gate with his men.
“Close the gate—quick!” Zhou Gui, thrown to the ground, ignored his own plight and shouted to the city guards, pulling up his robes.
Several guards pressed their shoulders against the gate and yelled in unison, forcing the gate toward the center. Lei Jingzhe’s horse surged forward, blade swinging; he first felled the guards pushing the gate and was about to storm in to seize Cizhou. In a split second, a chill ran down his spine. He instinctively ducked, and a weight landed on his back—a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy had climbed atop him.
Ding Tao swung his palm at Lei Jingzhe’s neck, but Lei Jingzhe sidestepped and countered, stabbing toward Ding Tao’s chest and abdomen. Ding Tao slid down the saddle, narrowly avoiding the blade, and as his feet touched the ground, he sprinted alongside the galloping horse. Using his momentum, he leapt back onto the horse.
“Hey!” Ding Tao grabbed Lei Jingzhe’s arm and flung a splash of ink into his face as he turned.
Lei Jingzhe had never anticipated such tactics from this young rescuer. The ink blinded him momentarily, though his extraordinary hearing allowed him to sense Ding Tao’s movements. In the struggle, he grabbed Ding Tao by the collar and flipped him off the horse.
Ding Tao crashed onto the ground, back aching. In pain, he cried out—only to see a horse’s hoof charging at him. He rolled aside, but his exposed back gave Lei Jingzhe a target.
Opportunity seized!
Lei Jingzhe threw a steel dagger.
Ding Tao tried to dodge, but his ankle was snagged by a pursuing bandit, forcing him face-down into the mud. Pushing against the ground to rise, he was dragged back down. The steel dagger struck near his back, mud smearing his face. Gritting his teeth, he pushed up and shouted toward the city, “Open the south gate—reinforcements have arrived!”
Lei Jingzhe roared in anger. The thrown dagger was caught mid-flight by a narrow sheath, deflected and lodged into the ground.
Ding Tao, shaken, turned to see the bandit who had grabbed his ankle now lying dead, head severed. He scrambled to his feet, jumped several times, and popped up behind Shen Zechuan, yelling at Lei Jingzhe, “You’re done for!”
One gate had closed. Lei Jingzhe and his men were bottlenecked at the horse path, blocked. He recognized the boy: the white cloak he wore was the same one he hadn’t changed since leaving Quan Du. Lei Jingzhe’s horse stepped back, then he lashed it forward. Shen Zechuan threw off the cloak, handing it to Ding Tao. Lang Taoxue surged up, and in the instant the wind whipped past, Yang Shanxue drew his sword.
Lei Jingzhe had dropped his blade, quickly drawing a subordinate’s dagger just before colliding with Shen Zechuan. The horses’ neighs were like war horns; two opposing forces clashed, blades screaming, hearts hammering.
Lei Jingzhe faced an opponent unlike any before. His terrifying strength seemed to sink into water; no matter how fierce his strikes, they were dispersed by Shen Zechuan’s flowing technique, dissolving into nothing. The harder he pressed, the more he was drawn into Shen Zechuan’s rhythm, trapped in an inescapable cycle.
Clever as ever, Lei Jingzhe feigned a strong attack, then suddenly turned and fled.
The opportunity was lost. Ding Tao’s cry of “Reinforcements have arrived!” had sown doubt. Surrounded by Xiao Chiyu’s men, if he persisted in attacking, he would be trapped on all sides. He would not survive even a few days.
“Retreat!” Lei Jingzhe yelled, turning southeast.
Shen Zechuan did not pursue. In the east, Xiao Chiyu leapt onto his horse, chasing Lei Jingzhe. Lei Jingzhe spurred his horse, glancing back across the uneven terrain, pointing first at Xiao Chiyu, then at Shen Zechuan, snarling, “We shall meet again!”
The bandits, unarmored and fast, melted into the forest in moments, scattering like birds.
Xiao Chiyu lifted the Overlord Bow again, a hundred-pound weapon, its drawn string terrifying to hear. His gaze locked on Lei Jingzhe’s back. Even as Lei Jingzhe neared the forest, he did not release the arrow.
In a sudden pivot, Lang Taoxue swooped, claws aimed at Lei Jingzhe’s eyes. Lei Jingzhe realized the danger and slowed, blocking and dodging. At that instant, Xiao Chiyu released the arrow—its golden streak flew like the sun, trailing a fierce afterimage—and struck directly before Lei Jingzhe’s eyes.
In this life-or-death moment, Lei Jingzhe yanked a subordinate close, pushing him forward. The arrow pierced the subordinate’s chest, toppling Lei Jingzhe from his horse. Rolling to his feet, he discarded the body and mounted again, fleeing.
At the city gates, Zhou Gui met Shen Zechuan, unsure whether to laugh or cry. He wiped his face. “You arrived just in time!”
Shen Zechuan dismounted, helping Kunling up with a sense of guilt. “I apologize for the suffering, Mr. Chengfeng.”
Seeing his courtesy, Kunling waved him off, steadying himself to survey the imperial troops. “No need for apologies. To capture the bandits, any hardship is acceptable.”
“But we didn’t coordinate in advance,” Shen Zechuan called to Ding Tao. “Fetch clean robes for Mr. Chengfeng and bring a physician along.”
Kunling, focused on Cizhou, harbored no lingering resentment. Though uneasy, he accepted Ding Tao’s assistance, bowing to Shen Zechuan. Xiao Chiyu also dismounted, walking quickly to their side.
“I didn’t expect Lei Changming had someone behind him,” Kunling said, gazing at the forest. Though surviving the ordeal, worry remained. “This person is iron-hearted, skilled at disguise, and cautious. Letting him escape today will surely cause trouble again.”
“Had it not been for the timely arrival of the marquis and the magistrate, Cizhou would have suffered,” Zhou Gui said, lowering his sleeves and bowing.
“The lord remained calm, giving us precious time,” Xiao Chiyu remarked, brushing dust from his face. “Imperial troops lie in ambush along the southern road, and eastward at Lei Changming’s old camps. Escaping is not easy.”
“His final retreat was thanks to your reinforcements south of the city,” Kunling said. “Wise indeed. We should open the south gate immediately.”
Xiao Chiyu smiled faintly at Shen Zechuan but said nothing.
Shen Zechuan said, “The lord and Mr. Chengfeng need not hurry. Imperial reinforcements are still over ten miles away along the main road.”
Zhou Gui froze, looking at Ding Tao. “So that means…”
Ding Tao’s back still ached. Seeing all eyes on him, he nodded solemnly. “They’re still on the main road, not coming into Cizhou. Young master told me to shout in urgency—it’s a winning strategy. Indeed, after I shouted, they fled!”
Kunling bowed again to Shen Zechuan. “Magistrate, I salute you.”
Lei Jingzhe had wanted to march the imperial troops straight into Cizhou, but feared facing Xiao Chiyu directly. Clever as he was, Lei Jingzhe wouldn’t gamble against Xiao Chiyu now. Shen Zechuan knew once Lei Jingzhe believed there were reinforcements to the south, he would immediately retreat. Only Ding Tao’s urgent shout at the critical moment could make him believe it.
“Good lad,” Zhou Gui praised Ding Tao, slapping him on the back with delight, wishing he were his own son.
Ding Tao grimaced from pain but nodded repeatedly.
“I thought the man was merely a bandit in the hills,” Kunling said as they walked into the city, “but he spoke and acted unusually. Though claiming humble origins, I sensed otherwise. He controls Lei Changming, yet is a generation younger. I cannot guess his identity.”
“He lets Lei Changming take the lead yet manages the bandits freely,” Xiao Chiyu noted, holding Lang Taoxue’s reins. “Outsiders would see him as a trusted aide.”
“Moreover,” Shen Zechuan added, “with Lei Changming’s stubbornness, he wouldn’t tolerate being a pawn. For him to wield such authority among the bandits, Lei Changming must trust him implicitly. Mr. Chengfeng, does Lei Changming have relatives?”
Kunling thought a moment. “Lei Changming came from a poor household. I heard he had a sister who married the commander of Duanzhou’s garrison as a concubine. Later, when the frontier attacked, she and the commander were killed… Wait, she bore the commander a son.”
“The illegitimate son of the Duanzhou Zhu family,” Zhou Gui added. “I remember during the first-month ceremony, when I was still working in supplies, I attended the feast. Though an illegitimate son, he was the firstborn. That fits.”
“If that’s him, his cunning is no surprise,” Kunling explained to Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiyu. “A mother’s favor elevates her son. They lived well in the Zhu household until the legitimate son was born, after which they were discarded.”
Shen Zechuan was about to ask the boy’s name when Zhou Gui suddenly exclaimed, staring at him.
“Your mother was at the first-month feast too!”