Xu Zhan ordered the retreat from Qingshikou.
The fifty men did not hesitate for a moment; their movements were swift, clean, and completely silent.
Niu Dali sheathed his half-drawn blade, his face full of reluctance.
"Brother Zhan, the meat was practically in our mouths. Are we really just withdrawing like this?" Niu Dali wiped the hot sweat from his face, keeping his voice low.
Xu Zhan slapped the back of Niu Dali's head.
"No matter how fat the meat is, you need a life to eat it! The scouts just left, and the main force will be here in the blink of an eye. This place is already exposed!"
Old Wu crouched in a sandy hollow, supporting himself with one hand while the other quickly sketched a route in the sand.
"Brother Zhan, three miles south from here is Yangchang Bend." Old Wu pressed his finger hard into the sand map, poking a deep hole.
"That place also has dirt slopes on both sides, though a bit gentler than Qingshikou. But the path is extremely narrow, fitting three horses side by side at most."
Old Wu looked up at Xu Zhan, his eyes gleaming in the dark.
"If eight hundred horses squeeze in there, turning around would be harder than climbing to heaven! It is a natural dead end."
Xu Zhan made a prompt decision.
"We go to Yangchang Bend!"
He turned to look behind him, his gaze sweeping over their original ambush position.
"Before we pull out, let's leave them a little something to think about. Since these smuggling scumbags are so cautious, we will play right into their hands."
Xu Zhan singled out two veterans with large feet.
"Go to the original ambush point and leave a bunch of messy footprints. Make it look as chaotic as possible, like we fled in a panic."
The veterans understood immediately. They ran over and trampled wildly through the rubble and dry grass, kicking over a few rocks for good measure.
Xu Zhan pulled a frayed, half-broken thick hemp rope from his horse and threw it right next to the most conspicuous pile of rocks.
The frayed end of the rope still showed fresh fibers.
"Let's go!"
The unit moved out swiftly.
Old Wu called upon ten nimble brothers. Dragging cloth sacks filled with plant ash, they retreated along the dry riverbed.
As they fell back, they evenly scattered the ash over their horses' hoofprints.
When the wind blew, the ash and dust rose, completely concealing the tracks left by their fifty horses.
The entire retreat route was cleaned flawlessly, without even a single trampled grass stem left behind.
Three miles passed in the blink of an eye.
Yangchang Bend was indeed a perfect pocket for an ambush.
Although the dirt slopes on either side were not high, they were overgrown with withered yellow weeds, enough to hide fifty men.
The path in the middle was winding and seemingly endless, flanked entirely by weathered earth and stone.
Xu Zhan lay prone at the top of the slope, carefully observing the terrain.
He turned to look at Niu Dali.
"Take fifteen men and move rocks to the back," Xu Zhan said, pointing to the rear exit of Yangchang Bend.
"Block off the rear completely! Pile the stones as high as you can. Do not let the herd charge back out once they are spooked!"
Niu Dali grinned, revealing stark white teeth.
"Do not worry, Brother Zhan. I will seal this path tighter than an iron barrel; not even a fly will get out!"
Fifteen bare-chested men, under the cover of night, hauled stones weighing dozens of pounds each to the pathway's exit.
Before long, a stone wall half the height of a man was erected. The gaps were packed with loose dirt and dead branches, making it incredibly sturdy.
Amur lay in a dirt hollow next to Xu Zhan.
He was still wearing that tattered uniform of the Daqian border army.
"My Lord," Amur leaned close to Xu Zhan's ear.
"The Helian people tie their horse reins differently."
Amur held up two fingers, gesturing quickly.
"They usually tie a dead knot around the horse's neck, leaving the ends very short. Daqian horses have long reins that are wrapped around the saddle once."
Amur swallowed and continued.
"Also, those Daqian caravans, the cargo boxes have black paint brushed on all four corners."
"That is to prevent moisture, and also to serve as a mark. They must be carrying fine iron armor. It is extremely heavy, so their wheel ruts will be much deeper than regular carts."
Xu Zhan patted Amur on the shoulder.
"Good! Amur, remember, once the fighting starts, you stay hidden on the slope and do not move."
"If you run around blindly, swords and blades do not have eyes."
Amur nodded heavily and shrank his body further into the dirt.
...
The night deepened.
From the distant Gobi Desert came the muffled thud of horse hooves.
The ground began to vibrate slightly, causing tiny grains of sand to dance on the edges of the dirt hollows.
Xu Zhan lay on the dirt slope, peering down through the dry grass.
Under the moonlight, a dense, dark serpentine line was moving toward Qingshikou.
Leading the way were several dozen mounted Daqian guards.
In the middle was an endless herd of horses. Eight hundred warhorses marched along the narrow path, their hooves rumbling like thunder, kicking up a sky full of dust.
Bringing up the rear were the Helian cavalry.
Wei Qian rode on a jujube-red horse, sweating profusely from the heat.
He tore open his collar and waved his riding crop in sheer irritation.
"Batu! Tell your men to hurry up! What are they dawdling for!"
Wei Qian shouted at a burly Helian man beside him.
Batu, holding a scimitar in his hand, cast a cold glance at Wei Qian.
"Manager Wei, night roads are hard to travel, and eight hundred horses are not eight hundred sheep. If we go too fast, the herd easily gets spooked."
"If the horses get spooked, can you afford to pay for them?"
Wei Qian slapped his thigh in anxiety.
"Past Qingshikou is Daqian territory! Do you not know how hot this batch of goods is? The sooner we finish the handover, the sooner everyone gets paid and leaves! You are used to wandering the grasslands, but I do not want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second!"
Batu completely ignored him.
He pulled on his reins and raised a hand, making a signal to halt.
The entire caravan slowly came to a stop.
Batu called over two cavalrymen and pointed at Qingshikou up ahead.
"Go up and take a look, and be careful! Make sure you do not even miss a mouse hole."
The two scouts took the order and spurred their horses up the rocky slopes on both sides of Qingshikou.
Wei Qian gritted his teeth in anger.
"You are just wasting time! In this barren wilderness, where would people come from! There is not even a ghost around here!"
Half an incense stick's time later.
The two scouts galloped back.
One of them held half a hemp rope in his hand and handed it to Batu.
"Commander, there is a situation on the slope."
The scout pointed in the direction of Qingshikou.
"There are a massive number of footprints behind the rock piles, as well as this broken rope. From the cut, it looks like it was frayed and snapped not long ago."
"Someone definitely fled in a hurry."
Batu took the hemp rope and smelled it right under his nose.
"It smells like horse sweat..."
Batu's face darkened, and he turned to look at Wei Qian.
"Manager Wei, did you not say this path was absolutely safe? How do you explain these footprints?"
Wei Qian froze. Staring at the half hemp rope, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"This... this is impossible! This old salt road has been abandoned for over a dozen years. Besides us, no one walks it! Could it be passing refugees?"
Batu scoffed coldly.
"Refugees with horses? Refugees wearing military boots?"
"We cannot go through Qingshikou."
"There must be people hiding on the slopes, or someone was just lying in ambush. If we march the herd in there, we will be sitting ducks."
Batu turned his horse around and looked toward the south.
"We detour! Take Yangchang Bend!"
Hearing this, Wei Qian stomped his feet in a panic.
"Taking Yangchang Bend means a five-mile detour! By the time the herd gets through, it will be almost dawn! Once the sun is up, our target will be so huge, do you want to attract the Daqian border army?!"
Batu suddenly drew his scimitar, pointing the blade directly at Wei Qian's nose.
The cold gleam on the blade flashed in Wei Qian's eyes.
"One more word of nonsense, and I'll chop you down first! If anything goes wrong with the goods, both of us will lose our heads! The Right Luli Prince only wants the horses; he doesn't care whether you live or die!"
Wei Qian swallowed hard, intimidated by the blade's edge. Not daring to make another sound, he could only turn his head away in resentment.
Batu sheathed his blade and shouted his orders.
"The vanguard becomes the rearguard! Send two hundred riders to clear the path ahead, and the rest will bring up the rear! Keep the herd protected in the middle!"
"Spread out! Don't bunch up!"
The convoy began to turn, moving toward the direction of the Winding Sheep Trail.
Up on the dirt slope.
The night wind blew through the withered grass, rustling softly.
Xu Zhan watched his prey step into his trap, one step at a time.
Batu was an overly cautious man, and this adjustment in their formation indeed made the ambush more difficult.
With cavalry guarding the front and rear, the horse herd was kept right in the center.
If they couldn't cut off the front and rear cavalry at the very first moment, the herd could easily be driven away by them.
"Brother Zhan, they're coming in," Old Wu lowered his voice.
Xu Zhan raised his hand, signaling everyone to get ready.
Everyone suppressed their breathing to the absolute minimum, intensely staring at the prey below.
The leading two hundred Helian cavalrymen had already entered the Winding Sheep Trail.
Holding their torches high, they illuminated the narrow passage.
Immediately after, eight hundred warhorses formed a long line and slowly walked into the bend.
The horses crowded together, snorting continuously.
At the very back was the rearguard cavalry led by Batu and Wei Qian.
Niu Dali lay prone to Xu Zhan's left, watching as the vanguard cavalry neared the end of the bend, about to crash right into the stone wall they had built.
Leaning forward slightly with his legs braced against the edge of the dirt pit, he was ready to charge down and start the slaughter at a moment's notice.
"Brother Zhan, let's do it!" Niu Dali squeezed the words through his gritted teeth.
Just then.
Xu Zhan suddenly reached out and clamped a hand down on Niu Dali's shoulder.
The force was immense, forcefully shoving Niu Dali back down into the pit.
"Don't move!"
Niu Dali froze, turning his head to look at Xu Zhan.
Right at that moment, the final group of cavalry led by Batu and Wei Qian suddenly came to a halt.
They did not enter the Winding Sheep Trail.
Batu reined in his horse, stopping outside the bend, and frowned as he peered inside.
