Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Yan Liqiang rode swiftly with everyone. Despite the dark sky, everyone pressed on by relying on the miniscule amount of light from the sky.
After the battle earlier, there were only less than a hundred survivors in the party and many of them also harbored injuries.
Yan Liqiang wasn’t bothered when the blood from the steeds splashed on him during the battle. But now, his body felt sticky all over. His clothes, which were drenched by the steed’s blood, clung to his skin and were mixed with his sweat. The agitating scent of blood made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
The howls of the stray wolves and the hoots of the owls rose and fell in succession, bringing about a creepy and chilling atmosphere. One could always spot some green or red eyes among the hills and bushes in the distance, staring at the party that was riding swiftly. Some were running behind the party while some were even trying to come closer. There were all sorts of ferocious and cunning beasts in the wilderness. If it wasn’t for the size of this party, these ferocious beasts would have pounced on them long ago.
The excitement and racing blood from the battle were slowly ebbing away. Watching the corpses of the guards which were tied to the steeds in their party, Yan Liqiang’s mood grew heavy. He couldn’t bring himself to feel happy at all.
The person who should truly be dead was still alive and sitting on the rhinodrake steed, protected by this group of people without even losing a strand of his hair. Yet, those that shouldn’t have died had left this world too soon.
Yan Liqiang felt quite conflicted. For the first time, he started questioning his morals deep down in his heart. Was it worth it to sacrifice so many lives just for the sake of sending Sun Bingchen to the Imperial Capital?
These guards that had been sacrificed were not Sun Bingchen’s confidants. They were merely ordinary soldiers from the Imperial Cavalry Unit from the Imperial Capital who had received the task of escorting Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen when he left the Imperial Capital. They were not deeply related to Sun Bingchen, Ye Tiancheng, or the Emperor and Grand Chancellor at the Imperial Capital. They served in the military all for the sake of putting food on the table. Yet they were killed at the northwestern part of the Great Han Empire by the hands of those Blackwind Bandits who similarly had nothing much to do with them. All this, just for the sake of sending a corrupted official who should have been chopped into pieces long ago for his crimes. And for that, they became nothing more than pawns in the game between the Emperor and the Grand Chancellor…
Perhaps some of the remaining people would also be killed in the near future.
Was it all worth it…?
……
The party continued riding in silence. No one spoke along the way, including Yan Liqiang. After traversing hill after hill, a sea of lights finally appeared somewhere ahead of them.
“The Hui Clan Gathering is just up ahead…!” Liang Yijie yelled. Everyone in the party let out a quiet sigh of relief before they squeezed the abdomens of their rhinodrake steeds and rushed toward the Hui Clan Gathering.
Upon arriving at the Hui Clan Gathering, Yan Liqiang only discovered that it was a fort.
Outside the Hui Clan Gathering was the remains of a mud wall about the height of two to three meters. There were a few taller but shabby watchtowers within the mud wall. The burning torches on the mud wall cackled in the night wind. There were a few people patrolling and keeping watch on top of the mud wall and the watchtowers. There was a huge door right at the center of the mud wall. Two wooden cages hung on either side of the huge door. Inside the wooden cages were severed human heads that had been completely air-dried…
The market towns of the northwestern provinces which were far away from the cities and in the wilderness all looked like this. They were fortified to the max. The high walls and deep ditches were to prevent robbers and mounted bandits from entering. Of course, the people living in places like these were also extremely tough. They were shaped through the chaos of wars over a thousand years.
When Yan Liqiang and the rest advanced toward them, the patrols on the mud walls and watchtowers were shocked. Someone on the mud wall started howling like a wolf. In just the blink of an eye, many people had gathered on top of the mud wall and watchtowers with weapons and longbows in their hands.
When Yan Liqiang and the rest were two hundred meters away from the mud wall of the Hui Clan’s fort, the people started shooting arrows at them from the top of the wall.
‘Whoosh…!’ An arrow flew over a distance of two hundred meters and nailed the ground before them. Half the arrow was buried into the ground, showing just how much power was in it.
This clear warning made Yan Liqiang and the rest instantly halt their steeds.
“WHO ARE YOU?” A drably dressed man with a dog fur hat stood behind the mud wall, revealing the upper half of his body as he shouted at Yan Liqiang and the rest.
“We are officials who happen to be passing by. We wish to stay the night at Hui Fortress, please open the door!” Liang Yijie replied loudly.
“It’s dark now and we can’t see clearly. In accordance withto the rules of Hui Fortress, we will have to politely refuse any entrance of outsiders after nightfall…!”
“Where is the chief of Hui Fortress?” Liang Yijie’s voice suddenly grew louder with an audible anger in it. “I would like to speak with your chief…!”
“It’s futile to speak with our chief! We have learned our lessons through those bandits and robbers who tried to barge inside Hui Fortress by using the same method at night before. See those severed heads hanging by the entrance? Those were the foolish thieves who dared to come and behave atrociously at Hui Fortress, so they ended up leaving their severed heads with us here. Come back tomorrow! At this hour, there’s no use even if the emperor were here himself, let alone officials like you all…!” the man behind the wall said roguishly.
“Liqiang…” Sun Bingchen suddenly turned his head around and called out to Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang instantly understood Sun Bingchen’s intention. He took out his Horned Python Bow, nocked an arrow, and let it loose with a whoosh. The hat sitting on the head of the man who was speaking to Liang Yijie was sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s arrow…
“Oh, I see that you want to resort to violence. You think the men of the Hui Clan Gathering can be trifled with…?” Someone shouted from the top of the wall, sounding extremely livid. A man revealed his upper half torso, picked up a bow, and attempted to shoot an arrow in Yan Liqiang’s direction. However, Yan Liqiang released his second arrow in just the blink of an eye. The sharp arrow broke the bow’s frame and bowstring. The moment that person drew his bow, his bow broke into halves with a snap, causing him to yelp in surprise.
With that, the people on top of the wall instantly fell into complete silence. None of them dared to even peer out with their head again. The second arrow Yan Liqiang released had completely shaken everyone on top of the wall.
Just how much precision and strength were needed to break someone’s bow and bowstring in a dark night like this and over the considerable distance between both parties without injuring the target? If such archery skills were used to kill, it would be unstoppable.
Half a minute later, another slightly hoarse voice sounded from behind the wall. “Those people outside are officials, not some bandits or thieves. Open the door, everyone…!”
Along with this voice, the tightly shut wooden door slowly opened…
