Huyan Ba sat imposingly by the campfire, holding a roasted leg of lamb sizzling with grease in his hand, and let out a burst of rough laughter.
"Mr. Chen, your method is truly brilliant."
Huyan Ba wiped his mouth and pointed at the pitch-black wasteland to the south, his tone filled with satisfaction.
"Scattering our few hundred cavalrymen out there is like throwing a handful of fleas right onto the hearts of those Daqian people. Even if it doesn't bite them to death, it torments them so much they can't sleep all night. Today the scouts came back and reported that in Zhenbei City, not even the wood-cutting laborers dare to leave the city. This battle is so satisfying."
Chen Changfeng's voice was calm. "Killing a few laborers is nothing. Tie Lanshan can endure this because he knows that if his main force leaves the city, they will surely die. However, that imperial envoy beside him is a variable."
"The imperial envoy? You mean that delicate woman?" Huyan Ba sneered. "What does she know about military strategy? She is just relying on her family background in the capital to come to this northern border and gild her reputation! Today that fool He Minghu was clamoring in the hall to send out troops, but wasn't he scared out of his wits by our roaming cavalry?"
Chen Changfeng sat opposite him, poking the charcoal fire with a slender dry branch. The firelight reflected on his slightly pale face.
He listened to Huyan Ba's boasting without stopping the movement of his hands.
"This is only the beginning. The Daqian people emphasize 'morale'. Now we have their morale bottled up inside the city. Once this morale dissipates, that city will become a dead tomb."
Huyan Ba tore off another bite of meat and asked indistinctly, "Why don't we report to the Royal Court and, under the cover of night, mobilize a large army to press forward? Those twenty thousand shi of grain just entered the city. If we can snatch it, our tribe won't have to worry about this winter."
Chen Changfeng raised his eyelids and glanced at Huyan Ba. The dry branch in his hand drew a dark red trace in the charcoal fire.
"My lord, do not forget that there is still Tie Lanshan in Zhenbei City. That old fox has guarded the border for over a decade. Although the soldiers under his command have been starving for half a year, their core strength is still there. What's more, the one-armed man following that imperial envoy is not someone to be trifled with."
At the mention of Xu Zhan, Huyan Ba's chewing slowed down a beat. A flash of wariness crossed his eyes, which was immediately covered up by disdain.
"You mean that Xu Zhan? Today the scouts reported that he led dozens of night scouts out of the city. Looking at that posture, he wants to figure out our bottom line."
Huyan Ba snorted coldly and threw the sheep bone in his hand into the campfire.
"I have already sent three teams of elites to intercept and kill him. I will definitely make sure his remaining arm is also left on the Gobi Desert."
Hearing this, Chen Changfeng's hand that was poking the fire paused. He raised his head and looked past the campfire into the darkness to the south.
"My lord sent people to intercept them?"
Huyan Ba nodded and said, "Naturally. On this wasteland, the hooves of our Helian horses are life-claiming ghosts. His few dozen men aren't even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth."
Chen Changfeng, however, slowly shook his head and threw the dry branch in his hand into the fire, watching it be swallowed bit by bit by the flames.
"My lord's action will likely yield little result. I have already ordered the roaming cavalry of all tribes to retreat, leaving only some traces to lure them deeper. As for the interception, if it succeeds, that is good; if not, it does not matter. I have already left something for them at those few water sources."
Huyan Ba frowned. "Left what? You mean those dead horses and filth? That stuff will at most make them sick for a while, what use is it?"
Chen Changfeng stood up, patted the dust off his long gown, and his tone did not fluctuate at all.
"My lord just needs to watch. The Daqian people emphasize medical principles and cleanliness, but the rule on this wasteland has always only been life and death. As long as they touch the water there, they have already lost half of this chess game."
...
Meanwhile, at Laoya Spring.
This water source looked indescribably bizarre under the moonlight.
Over a dozen corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the ground. They were the laborers shot and killed during the day. Their blood had dried, forming a hard crust on the sandy ground.
A faint sound of horse hooves came from afar.
Xu Zhan pulled the reins and dismounted with agile movements.
The fifty night scouts behind him also stopped, their movements uniform. Aside from the occasional snorting of the horses, they did not make the slightest extra noise.
"Hundred-man Commander, we have checked the surroundings. There are no signs of a large army stationed here, only some scattered horse hoofprints heading north."
A veteran soldier walked over quickly and reported in a low voice.
Xu Zhan didn't speak. He walked to the edge of the pool, crouched down, and examined the traces on the ground by the faint moonlight.
He gently stroked the edge of a hoofprint, his fingertips touching the dry sand, and gave it a slight twist.
"These hoofprints were left two hours ago. They left in a hurry, but it clearly wasn't a rout."
Xu Zhan made his judgment, then stood up, his gaze falling on a sand dune not far away.
The sand there had signs of being turned over. Although the wind had blown over it, some clues could still be seen.
"Dig that open."
Xu Zhan pointed at the sand dune.
Several soldiers immediately stepped forward and quickly dug using the short shovels they carried.
Before long, a few corpses were revealed. They were exactly those missing laborers.
Xu Zhan walked forward, crouched beside the corpses, and carefully examined the arrow wounds on the backs of the deceased.
The arrows had already been pulled out, leaving only blood holes. The flesh around the wounds was rolled back, showing a bruised purple color.
"Shot from a diagonal upward angle with great force, it directly pierced the lungs."
Xu Zhan stretched out his finger and gestured the angle at which the arrow entered the flesh.
"The archer was on horseback at the time, at a distance of no more than thirty paces, and they shot while the horse was running."
He stood up and surveyed the surrounding terrain.
This Laoya Spring was situated in a low-lying area, surrounded by rolling sand dunes. It was a good place for an ambush.
"Commander, look at this water."
Another soldier pointed at the pool, his voice tight.
Xu Zhan walked over. On the originally clear water surface floated the remains of several dead horses, along with some rotting organs and filth. The water color had become murky and black, shimmering with a layer of oil under the moonlight.
Flies buzzed over the water surface; even at night, the noise was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"These beasts, they are trying to cut off our path to survival."
The soldier cursed hatefully and made a move as if to clean the pool.
"Don't move!"
Xu Zhan shouted sharply to stop him. He stared at a spot on the edge of the pool.
There were a few dead birds scattered there, their feathers messy and bodies stiff; they had died after drinking the water here.
"The water is poisoned. It's not as simple as just filth."
Xu Zhan's face darkened. The enemy was not merely harassing them, but was step by step forcing them into a dead end.
"Commander, then do we still pursue? Those barbarians ran north. Judging by the hoofprints, there are only about a hundred of them. If we chase after them now, we might be able to bite their tails."
The veteran soldier leaned in, his eyes full of fiery vengeance.
Xu Zhan did not answer immediately. He looked up at the northern horizon.
It was pitch black over there, and nothing could be seen.
The things he had seen along the way flashed through his mind.
Scattered hoofprints, corpses deliberately buried yet leaving intentional flaws, poisoned water sources.
Every single clue pointed in the same direction. Every single one was luring him north.
It was too perfect.
"We are not pursuing them."
Xu Zhan gave the order.
"Commander?" a veteran soldier asked anxiously. "Are we just going to head back? Did those dozen men die for nothing?"
Xu Zhan turned and cast a glance at him.
"The enemy's retreat route is highly scattered. Every few miles, a small squad breaks off. They are trying to bait us into dividing our forces."
He pointed to the hoofprints on the ground and continued, "Look at these tracks. The uneven depth means they deliberately tied heavy objects to the horses' hooves to fake their numbers. In truth, there probably isn't a hundred-man company waiting for us up north at all, just a few decoys."
"If we split up to chase them, or push deeper into the wasteland, the only thing waiting for us will be the main Helian cavalry."
Xu Zhan swung up onto his horse and pulled the reins tight.
"Pass down the order. Everyone is to fall back to Zhenbei City immediately. No one is to touch any water source along the way. Violators will face military law!"
Though the soldiers were reluctant to let it go, their deep trust in Xu Zhan prompted them to execute the order swiftly.
The fifty Night Scouts turned their mounts around. Led by Xu Zhan and cloaked by the moonlight, they galloped fiercely back toward Zhenbei City.
The wind and sand whipped up behind them, quickly burying the fragmented hoofprints.
Atop a distant sand dune, several dark figures stood in silence, watching the retreating unit. Only when the riders disappeared over the horizon did they let out a low whistle before melting away into the darkness.
