The Imperial Guards’ blades pressed forward again and again. The ground beneath their boots had been soaked damp with splashing blood. The bandits who had not yet died were pinned to the ground. Listening to the endless screams, one of them had already wet his trousers in terror.
The flat of a blade pressed against the back of his neck. Blood smeared across his mouth and nose, choking him until tears and mucus ran down his face. Trembling, he cried out, “I don’t know— I really don’t know!”
Lei Jingzhe had always been suspicious by nature. Even back in Luoshan his movements had been secretive. Apart from his closest confidants, no one knew his exact hiding place.
Dantai Hu scraped the blood-soaked mud from the sole of his boot and said, “If you know nothing, why keep talking? Drag him away!”
The bandit’s arms were tied behind his back as the Imperial Guards hauled him toward the execution ground by a rope. His legs kicked wildly. Headless corpses lay on either side of him. The blade pressed against his neck flipped over, the sharp edge now touching his skin and making his whole body tremble.
Seeing Dantai Hu raise the knife, he suddenly burst into loud sobs.
“Liu’er! Officer! I know where Liu’er is!”
Dantai Hu asked, “Is this man one of Lei Jingzhe’s trusted followers?”
“Y-Yes!” The bandit’s chest heaved as he stared wide-eyed at the blade. “Liu’er is the ‘carrier pigeon’ of the household. All of Lei Jingzhe’s orders are passed down to us through him! When I took my men to hide in the west, it was Liu’er who sent word to me!”
Dantai Hu had already been here for half the night. At last he had gotten some information. He pulled the man upright and asked, “Where is this Liu’er now?”
“In Bianshui Town,” the bandit replied. “The message from a few days ago came out of Bianshui Town. If you go look now, you’ll definitely find him!”
Bianshui Town was only a few miles away. Dantai Hu thought for a moment and suddenly felt uneasy. They had searched that place several times already—most likely they had alerted the enemy. He immediately released the man and hurried off to report to Xiao Chiye.
The Imperial Guards instantly changed direction and raced to Bianshui Town. They surrounded the area and searched house by house, detaining anyone without household registration or a clear background who had appeared in the last few days.
The bandit identified people one by one, but neither Liu’er nor Lei Jingzhe was among them.
Dawn was about to break. Afraid that Xiao Chiye might take out his anger on him, the bandit racked his brain to offer suggestions.
“Liu’er has a lot of followers—his eyes and ears. Every time we move out to fight, they spread around him to keep watch and send word to Lei Jingzhe. Now that they’re gone, they must have fled after hearing the news. You’ve blocked the south, and we wouldn’t dare go north, so the only direction left is east to withdraw. If you chase them now, you’ll definitely catch them!”
Although Dantai Hu despised such spineless betrayal, he still reported the information truthfully.
Xiao Chiye pondered on horseback for a moment before saying to Dantai Hu, “Take half the men and chase through the eastern forests. They’re like startled birds now. A little intimidation will throw them into chaos—they won’t be able to turn around and fight properly. Just attack fiercely. There are over a thousand of them, but they’re all scattered troops. They won’t be able to hold out.”
Dantai Hu acknowledged the order. But seeing Xiao Chiye gathering the remaining men, he said, “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be enough for you to wait here? Why go yourself?”
“Look at Lei Jingzhe’s behavior—you’ll know he’s not only suspicious by nature but also extremely afraid of death. Anything we can think of, he can think of too. If the east is the route his men must take, he definitely won’t travel with the main group. The target would be too big and too obvious.”
Xiao Chiye wound the riding whip around his hand.
“Earlier he dared to use Lei Changming as a living shield. Now he’ll dare to use those thousand men the same way. You chase east without worry. I’ll block him.”
For the past two days the weather had been scorching. The blazing sun only made the anxious bandits more restless.
They gathered in groups in the forest. Since Lei Jingzhe had yet to appear, they loudly questioned Liu’er, who stood on a rock.
“Sixth Master is someone from the inner hall. You know more about the Second Boss’s situation than we do. What’s going on now? Give us an answer!”
Liu Er stuffed tobacco into his pipe but couldn’t find the flint. Squatting on the rock, he glanced at the cloudless sky—so bright that everything could be seen at a glance.
Smacking his lips, he said, “Didn’t I come to deliver the message? We’re heading home.”
“Hundreds of my men were captured by the Imperial Guards. I don’t even know if they’re alive or dead. I’m waiting for the Second Boss to come up with a plan to rescue them, and instead he tells us to go home like this? Isn’t that just tucking our tails between our legs and letting others bully us?”
A burly man with a booming voice stood up angrily.
“We were big names in Luoshan! We followed him to Cizhou for food and profit, and now we’ve turned into cowardly turtles. Damn it!”
“That’s just bad luck,” Liu’er said. He looked like an old monkey and behaved like one too—always slippery. Although he also had complaints about Lei Jingzhe’s orders, he wouldn’t say them outright.
“Go back to Luoshan and you’ll still be a big name. What hilltop wouldn’t respect you? Even horses stumble sometimes. Losing once isn’t a big deal. However many men you’ve lost, report it later and the Second Boss will replenish them—and give you some silver too. You won’t suffer a loss.”
“You think I care about that bit of silver?” the man spat. “I care about these brothers! Where are we supposed to find replacements now? Haven’t you seen the Imperial Guards’ notices? Cizhou is rebuilding its garrison army—food and land included. If people can join the proper army, why would they come mix with us? Are their brains kicked by donkeys?”
He continued angrily.
“And besides, our numbers were greater than the Imperial Guards’. When we first met outside Cizhou City, we should’ve fought them head-on! Instead he hesitated and held back. What was he afraid of? Now look—before we even fought properly, we somehow lost!”
Voices around him echoed in agreement.
Liu’er’s crow’s-feet deepened as he frowned. “The Second Boss was just being cautious. The Imperial Guards are well equipped. Look at their armor—polished bright. If we really fought them, we might not win.”
“Shiny dung!” the man snorted, grinding his spit into the dirt with his shoe. “What kind of soldiers are the Imperial Guards? How many battles have they fought? They can’t fight worth a damn! The only time they fought was that one time at Zhongbo Gate against the Eight Camps—and that wasn’t even a battle. That was a pissing contest! Whoever stood longer won!”
Laughter erupted everywhere.
The man cleared his throat loudly and tugged open his collar, revealing a broad red chest.
“I say we don’t rush to leave. Cizhou is a fat piece of meat. If we miss it this time, it’ll be even harder to chew next time! The Imperial Guards plaster notices everywhere asking civilians to report us—that just proves they’re afraid! Otherwise let them come!”
He swept his arm around.
“We’ve got five or six thousand men gathered here. Even if we just fight guerrilla battles in the mountains, we can make the Imperial Guards taste some hardship!”
Liu’er neither joined the excitement nor offered a decision. Rubbing his pipe, he said lazily, “The Second Boss said go back. If you still want to fight, go discuss it with him yourself.”
“He wants to hide his head between his legs like a turtle—where am I supposed to find him?” the man sneered. “He doesn’t even dare show his face. What, afraid there are Imperial Guard informants among us? Bah!”
The subordinate Lei Jingzhe had used as a shield during his escape was none other than this man’s future brother-in-law. His sister was as large and sturdy as he was, and it had taken a long time to find a man who treated her well. They had planned to hold the wedding by the end of the year.
Instead, the man had died here as a human shield.
He hated Lei Jingzhe’s heartlessness—and resented being forced into such humiliation.
“Let me repeat the Second Boss’s exact words,” Liu’er said, standing up and thumping his waist with the pipe.
“We’re just the vanguard. Our numbers aren’t large, but we’re not like the small bandits along the road. As long as we leave Cizhou’s borders within five days and reach the Dunzhou relay station, we’ll be back on our own territory. Even if the Imperial Guards chase us then, we won’t be afraid.”
Seeing the man’s furious expression, he added, “Of course, the Second Boss is still on the way here. Whether we leave or stay can still be discussed.”
These bandits had originally gathered from various mountain strongholds. Though Lei Changming had been stubborn and arbitrary, he had been generous to his men—wine, meat, silver, women, everything. If someone made a mistake, a few pleas could smooth it over.
Lei Jingzhe was different.
He rarely showed his face and imposed severe punishments. Anyone who fell into his hands after making a mistake usually lost their life.
He ruled them through fear.
Now that everyone had fallen into trouble together, new thoughts naturally arose. If even the emperor’s throne could change hands, why couldn’t the bandit chief? The capable should take the position.
Seeing Liu’er trying to please both sides, the big man said, “Fine. The Second Boss runs off and tells us to flee ourselves. Maybe he can be disloyal, but we can’t! The Imperial Guards are still at Bianshui Town, right? Liu’er, don’t you dare leave any traces!”
He slammed his fist into his palm.
“We’ll make this place our camp and harass them in small groups. We know these mountains. If the Imperial Guards gather their troops and turn to attack, we’ll run back here. If they don’t enter the mountains, fine—but if they dare chase us in, we’ll make sure they never leave!”
“We’ll drag this out for a few days—no one can endure that. Then we charge down all at once and beat them until they piss themselves! Once the Imperial Guards are scared, won’t Cizhou City fall into our hands again?”
“What do you say? Are we doing it or not!”
The rest of the bandits were fired up by his words. For days they had been treated like rats in the streets—hunted by the Imperial Guards and bullied even by unarmed civilians. They couldn’t eat well or sleep well.
They had never suffered like this back in Luoshan.
Immediately they roared in agreement.
“We’ll do it! Listen to Brother Ding!”
Ding Niu burst into laughter, pleased.
“We all have brothers captured by the Imperial Guards. This grudge must be repaid! Xiao Chiye killed one of ours—we’ll kill ten of theirs! We’ll capture him too, take Cizhou City, and maybe even Xiao Jiming will have to curry favor with us!”
The bandits erupted into excited chatter, already imagining the good life after occupying Cizhou City.
Ding Niu grew increasingly carried away. He even began thinking about bringing his sister here and finding her a better husband than the one who had died.
Then another thought struck him.
Xiao Chiye might do nicely—handsome, tall, strong, and of noble birth.
While Ding Niu was already imagining a house full of grandchildren, a lookout from the mountains came tumbling down the slope in panic.
“The Imperial Guards are here!”
Liu’er instantly tried to slip into the grass to escape, but Ding Niu grabbed the old rascal by the collar.
“You tipped off the Imperial Guards?!”
Liu’er hunched over, his long arms dangling, his white eyebrows nearly dragging on the ground.
He shook his head frantically.
“Not me! How could it be me? If it were me, I wouldn’t have come!”
Ding Niu dropped him, gritted his teeth, and shouted loudly:
“Fine! Since they’ve come looking for us themselves—then let’s meet them!”
Meanwhile, Lei Jingzhe rode swiftly along the road.
He had already bypassed the eastern forest and was now heading back along the return route. With Ding Niu and Liu’er’s group acting as a distraction, most of the Imperial Guards would be drawn away. The rest still had to guard the southern side of Cizhou and nearby villages.
He would slip through like a fish escaping the net.
Lei Jingzhe had brought only the fool Li Xiong with him, leaving everyone else behind. It wasn’t trust—Li Xiong was simply stupid enough, and he had raised the boy himself. The boy was obedient, and any thoughts he had were easy to read.
Lei Jingzhe rode while Li Xiong ran beside the horse.
When he ran, he looked fierce and powerful, keeping up effortlessly behind the horse. They had already been traveling all night, yet Li Xiong still waited innocently to meet the others.
“Drink some water,” Lei Jingzhe said, reining in his horse and tossing him a water pouch. “We won’t be resting on the road today.”
Li Xiong twisted off the cap and gulped down more than half at once.
Seeing this, Lei Jingzhe cursed, “You idiot! If you finish it now, what will you drink tonight? With a belly full of water you’ll start whining to piss again!”
Li Xiong wiped his mouth and laughed, patting his stomach.
“I won’t pee, brother. If I run a bit, it’ll be gone!”
Lei Jingzhe hung the pouch back on the saddle.
“Hungry?”
Li Xiong shook his head.
“Ate a lot last night. Still full! Once we get back to Luoshan, we can eat meat.”
Lei Jingzhe didn’t linger and continued the journey with him.
They had allies in Dunzhou. The relay station there could send intelligence quickly and mobilize the bandits still guarding Luoshan.
There was another reason for his urgency.
He had to reach Luoshan before news of Ding Niu and Liu’er’s capture arrived. If the news reached first, the authority he had built in Luoshan over the years would collapse by half.
And if that happened, mobilizing men would never be this easy again.
The road inspections gradually loosened and were no longer as strict as they had been within a dozen miles of Bianshui Town. The Imperial Army patrols grew fewer and fewer, and by the time Lei Jingzhe passed Caitian Tun, there was no trace of them at all.
They did not rest until night, stopping beside a narrow stream. Li Xiong speared several fish and roasted them for Lei Jingzhe. Without seasoning or herbs, the fish tasted fishy and bitter, but Li Xiong ate heartily. Once he was full, he collapsed and fell asleep.
Lei Jingzhe did not dare leave the campfire burning and buried it under dirt. He had not slept for an entire day and night and was gradually reaching his limit. Leaning against a tree, he eventually fell asleep as well.
He did not know how long he had slept before he suddenly woke with a start. Supporting himself against the ground, Lei Jingzhe stilled his breath and focused on the sounds within the forest.
The wind was strong tonight, rattling the branches and stirring waves of rustling leaves. Li Xiong was still asleep, his snores rumbling like thunder. Lei Jingzhe listened for quite some time. Though he heard nothing unusual, suspicion had already taken root in his heart. He kicked Li Xiong awake and gestured for him to fetch the horses.
While loosening the reins, Li Xiong suddenly felt the urge to relieve himself. He had not stopped during the day and had gone straight to sleep that night. Now he could not hold it any longer.
“Brother,” he whispered to Lei Jingzhe, “I need to pee.”
Lei Jingzhe clicked his tongue and made a threatening gesture as if he would smack him, signaling for him to hurry.
Li Xiong moved behind a tree and loosened his belt. The sound of water trickled softly. Seeing that nothing had happened yet, Lei Jingzhe began to relax a little. He pulled the horse along, but as the horse exhaled heavily, a sudden thought struck him.
Why wasn’t there even a single birdcall or insect chirp?
Before Li Xiong could finish, he heard Lei Jingzhe call out in a low voice:
“Move!”
“Hey!” Li Xiong answered, fumbling with his belt as he ran after him.
Lei Jingzhe lashed the horse with his whip, charging blindly through the shadows of the trees. The branches, swaying wildly in the wind, looked like clawing ghosts reaching from every direction.
Lei Jingzhe broke into a sweat. He did not even know why he was sweating. The wind chilled his back through his clothes, yet he did not dare look back for Li Xiong. He only wanted to leave this forest as quickly as possible.
The horse beneath him was already tired. No matter how hard he whipped it, it could not match its speed from earlier in the day.
Footsteps.
Footsteps thundered in from all directions. It felt as though something heavy was shaking the ground behind him.
Lei Jingzhe burst through the net of trees and rushed out of the forest—but immediately yanked the reins hard, breathing heavily as he stared straight ahead.
Xiao Chiye stood before him.
The wind blew Xiao Chiye’s robes backward. A Haedong Falcon perched on his shoulder, tilting its head. The night seemed to spread from behind him like a dark tide, drowning Lei Jingzhe’s limbs in its weight until he could not move. His entire body stiffened on the horse.
A hoarse sound escaped Lei Jingzhe’s throat. He realized what had happened and tried to turn around, but the Imperial Army surrounded him on every side.
Xiao Chiye had deliberately hidden his men in the forest, leaving Lei Jingzhe unable to guess how many soldiers he had brought. It was retaliation for Lei Jingzhe’s earlier deception—forcing him to taste the same absurd feeling of being toyed with.
“Run,” Xiao Chiye said in a deep voice.
Lei Jingzhe released the reins and slowly raised both hands.
“You win,” he said. “I concede.”
Langtao Xuejin tossed its head and neighed, but Xiao Chiye did not speak.
Lei Jingzhe slid down from the horse slowly, his hands still raised to show he had no intention of fighting to the death. He appeared extremely sensible. Once on the ground, he removed the saber at his waist, glanced at Xiao Chiye, bent down, and set it on the ground.
“Perhaps we can still talk,” he said.
Xiao Chiye replied with interest, “Go on.”
Lei Jingzhe steadied his breathing. Beads of sweat rolled down from his temples under the cold gleam of the surrounding blades.
“You’re returning to Libei,” he said. “You won’t stay in Cizhou long. Killing me now won’t stop the bandits of Luoshan from rising again. Instead, it will plunge Dun and Duan Prefectures—just recently stabilized—back into chaos. Why not spare me and keep the two prefectures steady? That will give Cizhou time to rebuild its defensive army.”
A crow cried out in the sky. The Haedong Falcon suddenly snapped to attention and shot into the wind, plunging into the roaring treetops. The tension below tightened as well.
Lei Jingzhe kept his gaze fixed on Xiao Chiye, as though trying to prove he still held some leverage—that he had not yet reached a dead end.
Xiao Chiye lifted his hand and rested it at his waist.
The two faced each other.
In the instant the falcon dove and tore at the crow, Lei Jingzhe suddenly kicked his saber into the air, shaking off its scabbard. He rolled forward, then sprang up with explosive force. The blade slashed straight toward Xiao Chiye’s face.
Steel collided with steel, sparks bursting from the clash of immense strength.
The scorching heat of the past days vanished with the wind. The sky had been clear earlier, but now dark clouds rolled overhead. Large raindrops began to fall, and suddenly a torrential downpour crashed down, as though heaven itself could no longer tolerate the oppressive heat and was washing the filthy world clean.
Li Xiong had lost track of Lei Jingzhe. After wandering for a long time, he finally heard faint sounds of fighting through the rain. He pushed aside branches and rushed toward the noise.
The moment he tumbled out, he found himself face-to-face with Imperial soldiers holding sabers.
He was unarmed.
Seeing Lei Jingzhe already losing the fight beyond the curtain of rain, Li Xiong panicked and shouted. He suddenly turned and hugged a dead tree as thick as a bowl, wrenching it from the ground.
“Brother!”
Like a charging bull, Li Xiong swung the tree with terrifying strength, scattering the soldiers in every direction.
Even Xiao Chiye had not expected such strength. The swinging trunk forced him to shift aside. Lei Jingzhe had already been wounded by a blade and immediately retreated behind Li Xiong.
Li Xiong’s brute strength was frightening—perhaps even greater than Xiao Chiye’s. Swinging the tree to block the blades, he shouted:
“Brother! Get on my back!”
Lei Jingzhe leapt onto Li Xiong’s back. Bracing the tree against the attackers, Li Xiong roared and smashed through a gap in the line.
He feared neither blades nor Xiao Chiye. Like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, the only person in his eyes was his elder brother, Lei Jingzhe. Even as his arm was slashed, he did not seem to feel the pain. Kicking through the wall of soldiers, he ran wildly into the storm with Lei Jingzhe on his back.
Blood poured from Lei Jingzhe, staining Li Xiong’s back red.
Li Xiong wiped his face and cried, “Brother! Don’t die!”
Lei Jingzhe was not someone who accepted fate easily. Life at the Zhu family of Duanzhou had been miserable. His father had betrayed his mother, so he changed his own surname and called himself Lei Jingzhe from then on. In Luoshan he had faced danger many times and always found a way out.
But Xiao Chiye was like the sudden rain of this night—an unexpected dead end.
He believed his fate should not end here, yet he could feel the situation slipping beyond his control.
“Damn it…” Lei Jingzhe clutched his wound. “Shut up!”
Li Xiong heard the thunder of hooves behind them and ran with gritted teeth. He was incredibly fast—so fast that ordinary horses could not catch him.
But Xiao Chiye’s mount, Langtao Xuejin, was no ordinary horse. In the blink of an eye it had already caught up behind them.
Li Xiong pushed himself to the limit, but when he leapt across a stream, his leg suddenly cramped. Still growing, he lost his footing and fell hard to the ground. Gasping in pain, he dragged Lei Jingzhe up and tried to carry him again.
“Xiao Chiye!” Lei Jingzhe knew they could not escape. “If you spare me, the bandits of Luoshan will join your command! My reputation still holds power—I can still be useful!”
Xiao Chiye flicked the blood from his Wolf’s Fury Saber. Langtao Xuejin took two steps and suddenly charged forward.
Lei Jingzhe grabbed Li Xiong’s face and turned it toward him. His voice had changed from the strain of heavy breathing.
He did not want to die.
Gripping Li Xiong’s fingers tightly, he said, “Cub… kill him. Kill him!”
Li Xiong wiped the rain from his face, limping on one leg. He spread his arms and steadied his stance, actually preparing to overturn Langtao Xuejin. His strong body trembled as he stared at Xiao Chiye. With a loud shout he charged forward.
He wrapped his arms around the horse’s neck, making Langtao Xuejin rear and scream. He knew few fighting techniques, but with a sudden twist of his legs—clearly a wrestling move from the Biansha tribes—he managed to throw the horse down into the mud.
Xiao Chiye grabbed Li Xiong by the collar.
Li Xiong stood on one foot, his face still young and unrefined. Struggling and pounding Xiao Chiye’s arm, he shouted:
“Brother, run!”
Xiao Chiye dragged Li Xiong aside and watched Lei Jingzhe roll down a muddy slope. Yet he did not pursue him.
Li Xiong even tried to bite him, but Xiao Chiye twisted the back of his collar and slammed his face directly into the ground, forcing his mouth and nose into a muddy puddle. Li Xiong choked and struggled violently.
“Tie him up,” Xiao Chiye told the Imperial soldiers who arrived afterward.
Li Xiong heard that before the blunt back of a blade struck him unconscious.
The rain stopped not long afterward. Tantai Hu rode up from the rear.
Xiao Chiye was wiping the mud from Langtao Xuejin when he saw him. Pulling off the cloth sleeve he had used for cleaning, he beckoned Tantai Hu closer.
“My lord,” Tantai Hu said, “I will immediately lead men to encircle from the southeast. He cannot have run far.”
But Xiao Chiye asked, “Have the bandits in the forest all been captured?”
Tantai Hu thought Xiao Chiye wanted a headcount and turned to call his men to bring the records. Instead, Xiao Chiye wiped the mud from his fingers and said:
“As long as they’ve been caught, that’s enough. No need to show me the list. Make preparations—we’re returning to the city.”
Tantai Hu paused in surprise. Seeing Xiao Chiye already lifting the saddle to place it on Langtao Xuejin, he followed a few steps and said:
“My lord, if we just let him go like this, isn’t that releasing a tiger back to the mountains?”
Xiao Chiye wiped mud from the saddle and replied,
“Not only will I let him go—I’ll send him off with great fanfare. Have several squads follow him. He’s been stabbed through, so don’t let him die on the road. Escort him all the way into Dun Prefecture’s territory. As for the rest… we won’t interfere.”
Tantai Hu thought it through for a moment and immediately understood. He grinned.
“Then I’ll go, my lord. I’ll take a few dozen brothers. Within three days we’ll escort him safely back to Dun Prefecture.”
Xiao Chiye cast a cold glance toward the direction Lei Jingzhe had fled.
The falcon swooped down again and landed wetly on his shoulder, grooming the blood from its feathers. Xiao Chiye used the cloth he had used to wipe the mud from Langtao Xuejin to clean the bird’s talons.
“Hold still,” he said. “I’ll wipe you clean. Otherwise when we get back and you land on Lanzhou’s shoulder with muddy claws, I’ll be the one stuck washing his robes.”