Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to concoct a scheme to sow discord so quickly tonight.
His old man truly refused to stay down.
The Yuan Kingdom was in turmoil, and in out-of-the-way corners, plenty of petty officials lacked any great ambition, merely idling away their days waiting to die—the sort to shut themselves away in a little tower to make a world of their own, heedless of the seasons passing outside.
Once upon a time, that had been his own dream too. He Lingchuan sighed softly to himself. Why did he seem to be drifting further and further from it?
He Chunhua tossed down the brush, and someone stepped forward briskly to take what he had just written. The next part was up to nimble, fleet-footed scouts.
He Chunhua couldn't resist clapping his eldest son on the shoulder again, praising, "Chuan'er, your words truly woke the dreamer tonight. Well done, very well done!"
He Lingchuan laughed along and offered a few polite platitudes, saying that being able to help his father was all the satisfaction he needed.
*Alas, wasn't it only because catastrophe loomed and things were urgent that I couldn't hide my clumsy self anymore?*
"You see, even if the Water Spirit gave an omen in those divination lots, it must be coming to pass right now," He Chunhua added. "If we pull together and get through this, everything will turn for the better, and this so-called crisis of yours will be shattered!"
He Lingchuan kept smiling. "I think so too."
*Was it really that simple? What about that line about a dove seizing a magpie's nest? Could it merely refer to brutal bandits taking over a mountain village and posing as villagers?*
He Chunhua turned back to consult with his subordinates. Time was precious now, and every second counted.
He Yue walked over as well and said to his elder brother, "Well done."
He Lingchuan asked him, "By the way, what was with that commotion by the lake earlier?"
"Nothing much." He Yue let out a breath. "I triggered the melee by the lake tonight. As a result, we missed a prime opportunity and now have to make up for it."
"So it was you, brat!" He Lingchuan had found it strange—his father was always steady and only acted after formulating a plan; how could he have struck at Lu Yao so rashly?
"I was too hasty!" He Yue said contritely.
"Now you're acting like a kid." He Yue was precocious, and He Lingchuan often forgot he was only fourteen.
At fourteen, one was practically the definition of reckless, impatient, and full of adolescent bravado. Making a mistake only once in a while was already outstanding.
***
On the western slopes of Xianling Mountain.
Wu Shaoyi followed behind the guide with a taut face. Occasionally glancing back, he saw a long dragon of torches trailing behind him.
They had originally pitched camp at the foot of the mountain, intending to rest up before crossing it tomorrow. Who could have known that Lu Yao would send a guide to lead them through the night, inviting them to a "whole-fish banquet"? His exact words were: "Live fish is all about freshness—fried, roasted, stewed, or boiled, it won't be fresh by tomorrow morning."
The catch was that the guide had practically bellowed these words, so forty or fifty men around the tents had overheard. The remnants Wu Shaoyi had gathered numbered eleven hundred men. With the rebellion defeated, morale was already in the gutter, and Wu Shaoyi had restrained them from pillaging along the way, breeding discontent in the ranks. His officers had urged him to look the other way—what harm was there in letting the men cut loose once or twice?
For safety's sake, Wu Shaoyi had adamantly refused. But this time, when Lu Yao's guide shouted out "whole-fish banquet," the soldiers' eyes turned green with hunger. Over the past ten days, they hadn't even had coarse rice; the chieftains could scrape by on guokui flatbreads, while the lowest grunts had to dig up wild herbs and gnaw on mushrooms, with at least seven or eight men dying from eating poisonous fungi.
Watching them swallow hard, Wu Shaoyi knew it was best not to say no this time.
And so, they marched up the mountain by night.
Furthermore, the guide told Wu Shaoyi that Pei Xinyong's force was also heading up the mountain.
Wu Shaoyi naturally wasn't gullible, but Pei Xinyong's troops were on the other side of the mountain. He sent scouts to inquire, and the answer came back affirmative.
Long before the Holy Master raised the revolt, Wu Shaoyi and Pei Xinyong had shared brotherly bonds in arms, and Wu Shaoyi had once saved Pei Xinyong's life, so their relations were solid. Since Pei Xinyong was also heading up the mountain, the stable triangular balance remained unbroken.
After weighing it over and over, Wu Shaoyi had waved his hand: march into the village tonight!
At the thought of fine wine and fresh fish waiting on the mountain, the entire army picked up its pace considerably. Wu Shaoyi's advisor was still uneasy and pressed the guide again: "Lu Yao called us up the mountain in the dead of night just for a meal? There's no other reason?"
The guide chuckled. "Listen to yourself, sir. Xianling Village is barely the size of a thumbnail, tucked deep in the mountains—what other reason could there be? It's not like there are immortal grottoes or ancient ruins up there, are there?"
Wu Shaoyi thought about it and found that reasonable enough, so he said nothing more and focused on the march.
In the pitch-black mountain forest, the cries of night owls and howling wolves rose and fell.
The further Wu Shaoyi went, the more uneasy he felt. Tonight had neither stars nor moon, and the forest was dark enough that one couldn't see one's own fingers; they had only torches to light the way.
*A dark night with high winds, fit for murder*—wasn't that describing right now?
If there were an ambush in woods like these, it would be extremely hard to deal with.
Just then, a flock of night birds fluttered up in alarm from behind. Among them, crows croaked hoarsely, making one's scalp tingle.
Everyone instinctively turned around, only for an arrow to shoot out from the dark woods ahead, thudding into a birch trunk twenty feet from Wu Shaoyi!
His personal guards lunged forward, surrounding Wu Shaoyi on all sides, shouting, "Enemy attack!"
The soldiers drew their weapons, standing at the ready.
Wu Shaoyi waved them down, however. "Fetch that arrow."
In the glow of the torches, he could see a strip of red silk tied to the fletching.
A letter delivered by arrow.
In the dead of night, who would be lying in wait in the mountains? Who knew Wu Shaoyi's army was heading up this way?
For a long time, the forest remained quiet; no other enemies or stray arrows emerged. Wu Shaoyi sent men into the woods to search, but they soon returned empty-handed.
Wu was not surprised by this result. He merely instructed a guard to unfold the red silk and hold a torch to illuminate it for him.
A single glance set his heart pounding in terror.
Three short lines of text, every word alarming:
*Lu Yao has surrendered. Leading government troops, he has laid an ambush in Xianling Village. Another seven hundred lie in ambush beneath Shaozi Crag.*
The night was deep and heavy with dew; only now did Wu Shaoyi feel that every breath drawn into his lungs was chilled to the bone.
Lu Yao had surrendered to the royal court?
The advisor leaned in, saw the three lines of small characters, and exchanged a stunned glance with him, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
Wu Shaoyi asked in a low voice, "Is that possible? With his notoriety, the court's army clearly hates him to the bone."
The advisor quickly composed himself, knowing that his boss needed his professional judgment at critical moments. After thinking it over, he said cautiously, "If he turns his blade on us, the royal court would be more than happy to welcome it, perhaps even promising him titles and wealth. As you know, Lu Yao never intended to become an outlaw bandit again; the two sides might well have struck a deal."
"I always heard he wanted to rally troops and rise again."
"Even so, he has to bide his time and conserve strength first," the advisor analyzed. "Serving as the court's hound is still better than being a stray... better than wandering the realm and fleeing the authorities."
He had nearly blurted out "a stray dog," before realizing in time that General Wu was in the exact same predicament right now.
Wu Shaoyi naturally caught his drift, his face darkening. Seeing this, the advisor hurriedly added, "Verifying this won't be difficult."
He pointed to the small characters on the red silk. "Send someone to Shaozi Crag first, and we'll have our answer."
Chapter 113