"Me?" The topic successfully piqued Lu Yao's interest. He set down his wine bowl and furrowed his brows in deep thought for a good while.
"Dong Haoming's military exploits in his early years were terrifying, but in his old age, he grew muddle-headed. He didn't even verify whether the Emperor was actually in the palace before attempting an assassination. If he didn't eat dirt, who would?"
He took a sip of wine and popped a couple of peanuts handed to him by a bandit into his mouth. "Besides, none of those sons of his have any real ability. I fought his second son, Dong Haoye, by the shores of Lake Xiangrong. That brat had read two military texts somewhere and fancied himself a general. His old man probably just wanted him to rack up some military merits on the battlefield so he could enjoy a meteoric rise back home. Who could've guessed he'd run into me in that battle?"
By then, the cook brought the finished fish soup to the table. Several tender greens and a pair of delicate mushrooms floated on the milky-white broth, alongside a small bundle of fine, springy hand-rolled noodles. While it was still piping hot, He Chunhua dripped a few drops of wine into the soup. The aroma was so tantalizing that every carnivore within two hundred meters gulped in craving.
Watching Lu Yao slurp down more than half the bowl, He Chunhua asked, "How did that battle play out? Would General Lu care to tell me?"
Delighted that someone wanted to hear about his glorious past, Lu Yao wiped his mouth and said, "Back then, Dong Haoye figured out our lakeside camp was lightly defended. He brought over a thousand men to raid the camp, and he nearly pulled it off! Luckily, I was patrolling outside with three hundred men, and the moment I saw the flame flare signal in the sky, I rushed back."
He Chunhua gave a thumbs-up. "Three hundred against more than a thousand. Impressive."
"Haha! That idiot was actually stupid enough to ride a white horse! On a dark and windy night, that horse practically glowed white. I took him down with a single arrow. Once the general's banner fell, their morale shattered. Those thousand men were nothing but a rabble—we routed them in less than two clashes..."
Wu Shaoyi lost himself in thought for a moment. Before the troops from the foot of the mountain arrived, the sable returned first.
"There is an army hidden beneath Shaozi Crag—at least five hundred men. They're all sitting in the dark without lighting any fires. I saw two fellows whispering and grinning wretchedly, and one took a lash of the whip for it. Oh, and I spotted a few familiar faces among them; they're definitely Lu Yao's men."
It actually spoke aloud, but no one present showed any surprise; they were already well accustomed to it.
Wu Shaoyi asked, "How far is Shaozi Crag from Xianling Village?"
"For me, it takes only dozens of breaths of leaping. For you humans, probably about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea." The sable added, "The space under Shaozi Crag is vast enough to hold hundreds of men at once."
Wu Shaoyi's expression instantly darkened.
At such a close distance, instead of going to Xianling Village to warm themselves by the fire and eat fish, these men preferred to brave the cold dew and hide beneath Shaozi Crag without even lighting a campfire, all for fear of being discovered... What, were they having a collective latrine break?
From the moment Lu Yao sent the invitation to join forces, the three parties had agreed to bring only two hundred men each to Twin Moon Pool—both to maintain balance and as a safeguard.
Now Lu Yao had secretly stationed extra men at Shaozi Crag. This was a unilateral breach of their agreement!
He knew it—Lu Yao could never be trusted!
Taking a deep breath, Wu Shaoyi told himself to stay calm, then asked the sable, "And Xianling Village? What did you see there?"
"Lu Yao is sitting with a man by the large lake at the village entrance, with a massive fish king before them. The two of them were roasting fish and drinking wine, chatting and laughing merrily. I heard Lu Yao bragging about his past battlefield exploits, and he called the man 'Lord He'! Oh, and he even offered advice on how to take Wuzhou and defeat the Grand Marshal!"
Wu Shaoyi's face changed.
Lu Yao sitting with an imperial court official, eating fish and drinking wine? The very idea felt bizarre and out of place.
As for dealing with the Grand Marshal, that was a headache meant for the royal court. No one else would ever ask for Lu Yao's advice on the matter.
That man surnamed He was definitely an official without a doubt.
"The two of them also gossiped about several generals, including General Pei. Lord He praised him as resourceful and steady, but Lu Yao said steadiness had its good and bad sides—General Pei's concubine had slept with another man, yet General Pei never had a fallout with the paramour." The sable scratched its belly. "The two of them chuckled for quite a while. When Lord He pressed about who the lover was, Lu Yao named General Xiaoyao."
"Oh, and behind that 'Lord He' stood government soldiers clad in light armor. I made a circuit around the village; there are at least two hundred government soldiers, looking tense."
Wu Shaoyi pressed a hand onto the hilt of his saber, his face ashen with fury. "Good, good! That Lu bastard really intends to use our lives to buy his surrender!"
Grudges old and new surged up all at once.
The guide beside him widened his eyes in horror. "General Wu, don't fall into the enemy's trap! Those soldiers are the ones we're supposed to slaughter! General Lu is only stalling him, waiting for you and General Pei to arrive so we can sacrifice him to our banner together!"
"Drinking wine and eating fish with the target you're meant to slaughter?" Wu Shaoyi sneered, anger turning to mockery. "Didn't you say earlier that nothing was amiss in the village?"
"I..."
"The government soldiers are few. Lu Yao could easily wipe them out on his own. Why would he insist on waiting for us to join him?"
The guide was at a loss for words. He could hardly admit that Boss Lu didn't want to incur casualties on his own, could he? He could only bite the bullet and say, "Think about that letter delivered by arrow! Someone must be driving a wedge between you from the shadows!"
The guide tried to argue further, but Wu Shaoyi had no patience left to listen. With a backhanded stroke of his blade, he took off the man's head.
While blood still dripped from his blade, he dispatched a messenger to Pei Xinyong. Lu Yao had not only broken their pact by bringing his entire force, but was also colluding with government troops to plot against him. Did Lu Yao think Wu Shaoyi was an easy mark to slaughter?
Pei Xinyong had been the one to push hardest for this rendezvous, and his temperament was comparatively mild. To win his fighting strength, Wu Shaoyi instructed the dispatch scout to lay heavy emphasis on Lu Yao's insolent mockery. Pei Xinyong's most beloved concubine had been as lovely as a flower, and crucially, thirty years his junior. No matter how robust Old Pei was, he was well past fifty and constantly occupied with military affairs—how could he satisfy her every need? That time he led troops out on a campaign lasting over four months, the concubine not only took up with someone else, but even ended up pregnant.
As composed as Pei Xinyong usually was, he could not bear that. In a fit of rage, he dashed the concubine to death on the spot without even finding out who the lover was, and drank himself into a stupor for half a month afterward.
For any man, such a matter was a thorn buried deep in the heart.
Better yet, the paramour, General Xiaoyao, had already fallen in battle. Even if Pei Xinyong learned the truth now, he couldn't shake him awake to kill him a second time.
Though burning with fury, Wu Shaoyi was in no rush for immediate success. He ordered the entire army to stand by on the spot and wait for Pei Xinyong's reply.
During this time, Lu Yao sent another scout over.
Wu Shaoyi's men replied with pleasant words, claiming only that the general was struggling to sober up, which had delayed their ascent into the mountains, but after a short rest, they would resume their march immediately.
After more than another half shichen, Pei Xinyong's reply finally arrived. It was very brief:
Reinforcements assembled. Willing to head to Shaozi Crag to pin down the seven hundred elite troops.
With Pei Xinyong's agreement, Wu Shaoyi felt completely emboldened. He waved his hand and ordered, "Move out! Objective: Xianling Village!"
Pei Xinyong also summoned the remainder of his troops up the mountain, commanding a total force of one thousand six hundred men.
Chapter 116