The city gates were open, and the black-armored cavalry from outside surged in like a tide.
Li Qiongqi was wounded, and with the city breached, he knew he was outmatched. He quickly turned his horse around and led his remaining troops towards the west gate.
Chaos reigned within the city walls.
Huo Tingshan rode his horse into the city, instructing Lan Zimu to take a detachment and clear out the remaining Jingzhou soldiers. Then, leading the rest of the black-armored cavalry, he pressed forward in pursuit.
To lure the enemy into a trap, one must apply some pressure, mustn't one?
Li Qiongqi led his battered forces out of the city. The horses galloped swiftly, the night wind whistling sharply against their faces like knives. The chill helped clear his muddled mind slightly.
Outside the city, two small official roads led west, one veering south, the other north. The fork ahead was pitch black. Under the night sky, the two roads resembled giant serpents with gaping maws; choosing either seemed like being swallowed.
Though it was deep night and the wind was cold, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Li Qiongqi's back. He realized both paths ahead likely held ambushes.
Regret washed over Li Qiongqi. Had he known, he should have retreated much farther initially, instead of assuming Huo Tingshan, having just dealt a heavy blow to his morale yet sparing him, wouldn't immediately press the attack and storm the city.
A fatal miscalculation.
"General Li, which way do we go?" his deputy asked nervously.
With pursuers behind them, time was running out.
Li Qiongqi's gaze swept over the two roads. Finally, gritting his teeth, he said, "Take the left!"
The left road headed northwest. He remembered the foliage flanking this road wasn't as dense as on the southwestern path, offering a more open view and making ambushes harder to set.
...
Huo Zhizhang lay prone on a small hillock, a telescope in his hand, watching the distance.
The glass material was still lacking; the necessary soda ash remained in Yuzhou and hadn't been retrieved. Raw materials were insufficient, so glass had not yet been successfully produced.
Later, Pei Ying had people return to the large limestone cave to collect crystal. Unfortunately, crystals of quality barely suitable for glass were exceedingly rare. The finest pieces were picked by Pei Ying to craft the first telescope.
Later, Sha Ying made one using slightly inferior crystal. After that, the remaining crystals were sifted again and again, barely yielding enough usable pieces for a third one.
The lenses were quite blurry, but Huo Zhizhang didn't mind at all. Being able to see was enough; he wasn't fussy.
And now, the young man watched the dark figures appearing in his telescope, a smirk curling his lips. "Finally here. Any later and I'd have fed the ancestors of every mosquito for eighteen generations."
The official road was dark, the deep night silent, save for the incessant clatter of his own side's horse hooves.
The unease in Li Qiongqi's heart grew heavier, as if an invisible sword hung above his head. He neither knew how high the sword was suspended, nor when the rope holding it would be cut.
At a certain moment, the two scouts riding ahead to reconnoiter were thrown from their horses in a tangle.
"Damn it, trip ropes!"
The next instant, arrows flew like rain.
Strangely, Li Qiongqi felt a sense of relief. He immediately rallied his troops, "Dismount! Into the woods!"
Yet as soon as he spoke, the arrow rain ceased. The situation seemed to suggest either the ambushing force was small, or they carried limited arrows.
The Jingzhou soldiers looked at each other. The deputy asked, "General Li, do we still dismount?"
Li Qiongqi took a deep breath. Warhorses were valuable; he couldn't bear to abandon them. "No. Continue forward for now."
The remnants pressed on. The earlier scouts had fallen to arrows. Having already encountered trip ropes once, Li Qiongqi assumed there would be no more and didn't send new scouts ahead.
He paid the price again.
Horses and men tumbled. Battle cries erupted from the front.
Soon after, the sound of hooves came from behind, vast and imposing, encircling the Jingzhou troops in the middle with a pincer movement.
Li Qiongqi couldn't help but look back.
The newcomers, seemingly confident of victory, brazenly lit torches. The torches advanced like a fierce, undulating dragon.
Li Qiongqi saw the towering figure riding at the forefront. Torches were held by guards behind him, casting light from the rear that stretched forward, leaving the man's face somewhat obscured.
He couldn't see the face clearly, but Li Qiongqi would recognize this silhouette even if it were turned to ash: "Huo! Ting! Shan!"
It was him again.
Huo Tingshan didn't bother with words first. He made a gesture, and the troops behind him swarmed forward.
Caught between attacks from front and rear, this Jingzhou remnant force was soon mostly annihilated; those not killed were captured.
Li Qiongqi had been forced from his horse. He and the few remaining Jingzhou officers formed the center of a circle, surrounded by a ring of protruding halberds with cross-shaped blades. Under the moonlight, the halberds reflected a chilling gleam.
Huo Tingshan sat astride his horse. "Li Qiongqi, caught you a second time. Do you yield?"
A vein throbbed on Li Qiongqi's forehead. "I do not! Shuixiang Town was just a small township. Its parapet walls were loose and virtually useless. Such a position is easy to attack but hard to defend. The terrain was disadvantageous for me. If our positions were reversed, I could have easily taken Shuixiang Town too."
Huo Zhizhang, standing nearby, mocked, "Didn't you choose to station your troops at Shuixiang Town yourself? Since you chose it, you should bear the consequences."
Li Qiongqi choked, unable to argue that the other had outmaneuvered his own strategy. He could only stubbornly retort, "I still don't yield."
Seemingly unsurprised by his continued defiance, Huo Tingshan said leisurely, "Don't yield? In that case, I'll let you go once more."
Six other Jingzhou officers were also trapped with Li Qiongqi. Hearing this, they couldn't help but show joy on their faces.
Of all hardships, death is the hardest. Now, being able to live, with a chance to rise again, naturally filled them with hope.
However, Huo Tingshan wasn't finished. "I give you one quarter-hour. Among these six men, choose three to return with you."
Choosing three out of six meant only half would live.
The faces of all six men changed. They looked at Li Qiongqi, pleading.
Huo Tingshan watched the drama unfold leisurely, quietly waiting for time to pass. One quarter-hour soon elapsed. Having enjoyed the spectacle, the man spoke again. "Choose. Which three shall live?"
Fuming with hatred, Li Qiongqi pointed out the men.
Seeing this, Huo Tingshan nodded. Using his horsewhip as a pointer, he indicated the three who had now stepped beside Li Qiongqi, those chosen by him to "live." "Kill those three."
Their expressions changed drastically.
Huo Zhizhang paid no heed to their churning emotions. He and Lan Zimu drew their blades simultaneously, instantly severing two heads.
Blood splattered across the ground. "Thud." A third head rolled, the headless corpse toppling straight back.
"You tricked me?!" Li Qiongqi's eyes turned bloodshot, as if he wished he could devour Huo Tingshan's flesh.
Huo Tingshan was utterly indifferent. "Hardly a trick. We are on opposing sides, after all. It's only natural for me to oppose you, isn't it? Now get lost. Any longer, and you can join them in the underworld."
Li Qiongqi stood still for a few breaths, then finally turned and mounted his horse. The clip-clop of hooves sounded, carrying the night riders westward.
"Father, why didn't you kill Li Qiongqi?" Huo Zhizhang was puzzled.
He had learned from Sha Ying and Xiong Mao that Li Qiongqi possessed extraordinary martial prowess. Wouldn't eliminating such a formidable warrior early on save them future trouble?
Huo Tingshan glanced at his youngest son. "Don't think only of fighting and killing all day. The world is vast, with many remarkable talents. Not all who are not on our side must be killed—could you kill them all? Furthermore, he serves Jingzhou today, but who's to say he won't pledge allegiance to our Youzhou tomorrow? Remember, Sizhou once belonged to Li Xiaotian, and now it's part of your father's domain."
Huo Zhizhang was left speechless.
Gazing in the direction Li Qiongqi had departed, Huo Tingshan slowly curled the corner of his mouth.
He had killed three and released three. The three he let go were the ones Li Qiongqi had specifically named for death. Having narrowly escaped with their lives, they would surely harbor deep resentment towards Li Qiongqi. They might even fear that Li Qiongqi had seen through their hatred, feeling it unsafe to keep them close, and decide to silence them permanently to tie up loose ends.
Those three would most likely slip away secretly and find a roundabout way back to Cong Liuqi.
Such a bellyful of resentment needs an outlet, and Cong Liuqi, who has the power to suppress Li Qiongqi, is the perfect confidant.
Leading troops to attack Chenyuan Pass only to end in near-total annihilation, and on top of that, losing the painstakingly forged Iron-Spine Serpent Spear...
Even if Cong Liuqi himself harbored no initial suspicion, with some deliberate stirring of the pot, a sliver of doubt would arise. He would begin to wonder if Li Qiongqi had long since defected; otherwise, how could he have twice preserved his life from Huo Tingshan's grasp?
All that's needed now is Cong Liuqi to provide the final spark...
"Let's return," Huo Tingshan said, turning his horse around.
When Pei Ying awoke the next day, it was a rare occurrence to find someone still beside her. This man's domineering nature manifested in every aspect; initially, she couldn't even push away the long arm draped over her waist.
However, her stirring roused him.
The fresh stubble on his chin brushed against her temple, tickling her. Pei Ying tilted her head to avoid it. "Did everything go smoothly last night?"
Freshly awakened, Huo Tingshan's voice was deeper than usual. "It went fairly well."
"Was that 'beast' captured?" Pei Ying turned over in his embrace.
"Not yet, but it's just a matter of adding the final touch." Huo Tingshan was in excellent spirits.
He had returned just before dawn and had slept for less than two hours, yet he was already brimming with energy.
Morning energy, in every sense.
The rough, large hand that had been resting on the beautiful woman's waist now slid along her waistline, moving forward. Pei Ying shivered incessantly from his touch.
The summer heat was intense, but the window in the room was open. A newly replaced ice basin stood beside the bed, allowing the breeze and sunlight to stream in, filling the chamber with a cool, brilliant glow.
The commotion behind the screen was not subtle. The man who had just won a battle, having slept his fill, was in a restless mood.
"Who was it that said during wartime, intimacy was forbidden..."
Before she could finish her sentence, her words were swallowed whole.
Shyly leaning, too intoxicated to sing, delicate hands covering the fragrant silk. ①
The bright spring scenery is infinitely beautiful, the full moon secretly gives birth to fragrance.
Pei Ying had originally planned to start strategizing about steel smelting upon waking, but thanks to Huo Tingshan's disruption, she didn't rise until nearly noon.
"Madam." Someone spoke at the door—it was Xin Jin's voice.
Pei Ying shot a reproachful glance at the satiated man. "We're definitely late."
In the past, when there was no warfare, they would always dine with the younger generation. Now, they were terribly late.
Huo Tingshan said lazily, "It's just a meal, not an urgent matter. Let them wait."
Pei Ying ignored his comment and began dressing herself. But as she dressed, she noticed something amiss.
It was summer, and the material of her ruqun was light and thin. While the neckline of ruqun in this era wasn't as low as in the Tang Dynasty, it couldn't be considered particularly high either.
Now, as Pei Ying looked down, her gaze fell upon a fresh, crimson mark just outside her collar—impossible to conceal.
Freshly made, still very new.
Annoyed, Pei Ying pulled her collar up to cover it, but it was futile; as soon as she let go, the collar slipped down again.
"Huo Tingshan, you are too unrestrained," she murmured in complaint.
Huo Tingshan took a look. "I'll be more careful next time."
In the end, Pei Ying did not go to the main hall for the midday meal; she and Huo Tingshan ate in their room.
After the meal, Pei Ying began working on the matter of steel smelting.
