The night was pitch black and heavy, with neither stars nor a moon in the sky. This deep night should have been utterly silent, yet it was unexpectedly filled with the clamor of voices and the neighing of horses.
Spring brings many mosquitoes. Huo Zhizhang, ignoring the small swollen bite on his neck, led the Youzhou soldiers out of the thicket to attack the cavalry unit that had just passed from behind.
Arrows, their shafts wrapped with oil-soaked hemp cloth, flew through the air. Their flames traced bright arcs, briefly illuminating the darkness in the next few moments and eliciting a series of agonized screams.
Horses seldom encountered such fire arrows. Flames singed their tails, causing the warhorses to whinny in panic. A few uncontrollable steeds veered off their original path, charging into the bushes at the side.
"Ambush! Those at the rear, turn around and engage the enemy!"
"We've fallen into a trap!"
Damn it, how did this happen? The scouts earlier didn't detect any ambush.
"They probably hid deep enough, and their numbers are small. That's how they slipped past."
"They can't have many men. Brothers, hold your formation!"
But such reassurances were of little use, for they were already near the edge of the Youzhou army camp. Even the vanguard elites had begun their assault.
They had barely managed a couple of sneak attacks when suddenly fire erupted behind them—they were directly caught in a pincer movement.
"Centurion, what do we do now? Do we press the attack, or..."
The centurion on horseback gritted his teeth.
The plan had failed.
The enemy was prepared. This night raid was doomed to end in failure. Attacking the Youzhou army now would be no different from throwing an egg against a stone.
"Retreat!" the centurion shouted. "They evaded the scouts' reconnaissance, so their numbers must be few and they likely have no horses. The blocking force at the rear will be weak. We turn back."
But the battle had already begun. The rain of arrows was dense to the point of being chilling. In mere moments, the soldiers at the front fell to the ground one after another, struck by arrows.
The chaos at the front spread backward like a tide, soon merging with the raging waves rising from the rear—the entire unit was in disarray.
"Steady the horses!" the centurion roared.
Once the horses galloped out of the arrows' range, the rain of arrows finally ceased. But soon, the sound of hoofbeats came from the direction of the camp.
The Youzhou army was giving chase.
The centurion actually felt slightly more settled now.
He had thoroughly scouted this terrain earlier and had set traps and obstacles along the road before setting out. Shaking off the pursuers shouldn't be difficult.
Huo Tingshan sat atop his horse, Wu Ye. By the light of the burning fire arrows, he watched the "Jingzhou troops" hastily fleeing in the distance. Behind him stood a host of black-armored cavalry clad in armor.
The firelight reflected off the fish-scale-like black armor, gleaming with a cold, sharp light.
Huo Tingshan raised his voice: "First Black Armored Squadron, follow me in pursuit!"
The black-armored cavalry poured forth in single file, vanishing into the darkness like ghosts. A chase under the cover of night began right beside the Youzhou army camp.
Li Xiaotian paced back and forth in his camp, waiting for news of victory.
Over the past few days, he had sent out numerous patrols, which can be said to have thoroughly scouted the entire area. The plan for advancing and retreating was all properly arranged.
To ensure the plan's absolute success, he had even painfully issued an order to abandon the horses if necessary. If they couldn't shake off pursuers, they were to ditch the horses, slip into the woods, hide overnight, and return to camp on foot the next day.
Furthermore, he had dispatched two units under the guise of "patrols"—actually serving as support teams—carrying their own army's uniforms, so the night raid team could change clothes quickly.
In short, they must not be caught by the Youzhou side.
Everything was clearly well-arranged, yet for some reason, a corner of Li Xiaotian's heart held a hidden unease.
Before sending out the troops, this lurking unease was faint, almost imperceptible. But after dispatching them, as time ticked by, that unease slowly swelled.
Now it made him quite uneasy.
The day after returning from the manor, after much contemplation, he finally ordered someone to send a message to Huo Tingshan. The gist was that the incident was a scheme by villains from Chang'an and they should not let it harm the harmony between their two provinces.
A reply came swiftly. Huo Tingshan expressed understanding, saying the people from Chang'an had cunning minds. If their two provinces stirred up conflict and damaged harmony over this, wouldn't they just be falling into the villain's trap?
Moreover, Huo Tingshan had sent over several sheep, both as consolation for his loss of a son and to renew their old friendship. For the next two days, aside from no further shared meals, communications between both sides returned to the state before the manor incident, as if it had never happened.
Logically, after this series of manipulations, Huo Tingshan should believe he had successfully fooled everyone, feeling the comfort of a long sigh of relief after accomplishing something. This should be the moment he was most relaxed.
Lieutenant Liu stood beside Li Xiaotian. Seeing his superior's gloomy expression, seemingly worried, he couldn't help but comfort him, "Sir Li, we scouted for several days prior. Moreover, all those sent out are fresh faces who have never been seen by Huo Tingshan and the others. Even if caught, they wouldn't be known as our men."
Li Xiaotian's expression brightened slightly. "By my reckoning, in about half an hour, they should be back."
"If they don't abandon the horses, an hour is sufficient," Lieutenant Liu said.
As soon as these words fell, a sudden commotion erupted from the rear—screams, shouts—it sounded like utter chaos.
Li Xiaotian and Lieutenant Liu turned simultaneously. A burst of flame abruptly flashed before their eyes—a towering blaze was rising from the rear! The distant fire raged violently, illuminating their astonished faces.
"What's going on?"
"Report, Sir Li! The east side is under enemy attack!" a guard hurriedly reported. "Judging by the banners, it looks like Jingzhou troops."
Li Xiaotian's expression changed drastically: "Jingzhou troops?"
Why would Jingzhou troops appear at this critical juncture, and attacking from the east side?
Their camp was situated east of the Youzhou army camp. If the attackers were Youzhou troops in disguise, it would mean they had to go around their own Sizhou camp to reach the east side—far too troublesome.
Could it really be Jingzhou troops attacking?
"Capture those ambushers without fail!" Li Xiaotian ordered sharply.
...
By now, the east side of the Sizhou camp was in complete chaos.
The guarding soldiers were all dumbfounded, watching the fireball charging straight towards them. The fireball burned fiercely, moving with incredible speed, carrying the violent momentum of a windstorm.
"Heavens, what is that?"
"Is it the Fire God manifesting? Do the Jingzhou troops possess the power to control ghost fire?"
"Stop talking nonsense! That's clearly swine—swine on fire! Don't just stand there gawking, stop them quickly! Don't let them charge into the grain stores!"
"How did the swine catch fire?"
"Bows, quick, shoot the arrows... Ah! They're coming this way! Damn it, stay back!"
Not far away, the Chen brothers watched the camp in turmoil like a pot of boiling porridge, both grinning.
Douse pigs with oil, then ignite them with fire arrows.
These fire boars were truly effective. A group of bewildered soldiers, upon first seeing the fire boars, thought the mountain god was angry and actually dropped their bows, knelt, and prayed for mercy.
"Thanks to the mistress's fire token, otherwise lighting the fire wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
"Here they come. Fire this last volley of arrows, then we retreat."
Chen Yang held a fire starter, standing beside Chen Wei who gripped a longbow with one hand and nocked an arrow with the other. He placed the fire starter beneath the arrowhead, quickly igniting the oil-soaked cloth wrapped around it.
Once the arrowhead was aflame, it shot forth.
After releasing the arrow, Chen Wei swiftly retrieved his bow, took a whistle from his bosom, and blew it hard. The gyrfalcon circling above, which had come to deliver their message tonight, beat its wings, rapidly gained altitude, and headed back towards the Youzhou army camp.
As the two led their team in retreat, a group of pursuers followed closely behind.
Chen Wei warned, "Don't take a wrong turn. If we fail to rendezvous with Lieutenant Chen and the others, it's no joking matter."
Chen Yang replied calmly, "Don't worry. I marked this path. Nothing will go wrong."
After Huo Tingshan left the tent, Pei Ying tossed and turned, listening to the commotion outside, her heart unavoidably tightening. It seemed only two quarters of an hour had passed, or perhaps longer, before the noise outside gradually subsided.
The night returned to silence.
Huo Tingshan had not yet returned.
Pei Ying waited a while longer, but waves of drowsiness washed over her, and she drifted back into slumber.
Upon waking, daylight streamed in from outside.
Pei Ying lifted the tent flap and stepped out, just in time to see Meng Ling'er approaching. "Mother, there was an enemy attack last night."
Pei Ying asked, "Were you frightened, my dear?"
"Not exactly frightened, but I couldn't help worrying. Lieutenant Chen went out in the middle of the night and hasn't returned yet," Meng Ling'er said, her tone tinged with anxiety.
Pei Ying was taken aback, a flicker of doubt appearing in her eyes.
How did her daughter know Chen Yuan had gone out?
Meeting her mother's questioning gaze, Meng Ling'er belatedly realized her statement, lacking context, could easily be misunderstood. Her ears turning red, she explained, "I heard the noise outside around midnight, so I got up to look. I happened to see Lieutenant Chen in armor walking out, looking as if he was heading to engage the enemy. Just now, as I passed by, I overheard that the relief force Lieutenant Chen led hasn't returned yet."
Pei Ying looked at her daughter's slightly reddened ears and pursed her lips.
After saying this, Meng Ling'er couldn't help but avert her gaze, idly scratching her cheek with a slender, pale finger.
For some reason, she felt an inexplicable worry that her mother might press further with questions.
Fortunately, she did not.
Her mother only asked with a smile, "Have you had breakfast yet, my dear?"
Meng Ling'er felt a slight relief in her heart and hurriedly said she had not.
Pei Ying nodded. "Your father and second brother haven't returned yet. Since—"
Before she could finish, someone shouted loudly from nearby, "The General returns!"
The camp instantly erupted in commotion.
Wu Ye's build was a full size larger than an ordinary steed. Usually fed the finest fodder and often supplemented with soybeans, he was well-fed, sturdy, and glossy.
Before even dismounting, Huo Tingshan, astride his tall horse, looked over the crowd of officers rushing to greet him and his gaze landed precisely on Pei Ying.
His armor caught the morning light, his ring-pommel sword sheathed at his waist. His figure was tall, broad, and imposing like a mountain, sharp and intimidating like an unsheathed blade. Yet, at this moment, Pei Ying distinctly felt that the gaze directed at her held no sense of oppression.
"Father and the others are back," Meng Ling'er said happily.
Huo Tingshan swung down from his horse, briefly issued a few orders, instructing the officers beside him to take the prisoners away first.
After dismissing the officers, Huo Tingshan stepped forward. "Did you sleep well last night, my lady?"
Pei Ying thought of the previous night spent tossing and turning, unable to sleep for a long time. "...Well enough."
Huo Tingshan was about to say something more, but Meng Ling'er spoke first. After several months of getting along, she was no longer as afraid of her stepfather as she had been initially. "Father, I saw just now that you seemed to have captured a group of people. Are they all from Sizhou?"
Huo Tingshan gave an affirmative hum.
"Has Zhizhang returned?" Pei Ying asked.
Huo Tingshan replied, "He has."
Pei Ying called a guard to send a verbal message to Huo Zhizhang, asking him to join them for breakfast.
Huo Zhizhang arrived in a whirlwind. He hadn't slept for a full day and night since yesterday, yet he was still full of energy, though he was truly famished.
Once breakfast was served, Huo Zhizhang wolfed down his food. After easing his initial hunger, he said, "The 'fire boar' tactic was brilliant! I just heard from Chen Wei and Chen Yang that this operation burned at least two of Sizhou's granaries. Trading a few wild boars for two of their granaries is worth it!"
Thinking of the prisoners they had captured, Huo Zhizhang couldn't help but grin, showing a row of white teeth. "We captured over a dozen prisoners. When we line them up in front of Governor Li and cut off their heads one by one, Governor Li's expression is sure to be a sight to behold."
Pei Ying's hand holding the bamboo chopsticks paused slightly.
"Eat your meal. No talk of cutting off heads," Huo Tingshan said with a displeased expression.
Huo Zhizhang was taken aback.
Couldn't he say that? He used to say such things often before.
Catching a glimpse of the beautiful lady opposite him turning slightly pale out of the corner of his eye, Huo Zhizhang said remorsefully, "My apologies, Mother. I won't speak of such things anymore."
He changed the subject. "If not for the many obstacles in the mountains and the foliage blocking the view, we definitely could have captured more prisoners."
"Second Brother, a dozen is already quite a lot," Meng Ling'er comforted him.
Huo Zhizhang sighed. "Almost all of their men who came were killed. A dozen is indeed not few, but I think a few stragglers might have escaped back. If only I had the eyes of a gyrfalcon, then I'd spot them all for sure, and none of them would get away."
Pei Ying was stunned.
Eyes of an eagle. Eyes that see a thousand li.
A telescope...
