Chapter 260: Siblings Reunite
At the break of dawn, the remaining snow on the Qilian Mountains peak had not yet shed its chill when the Northern Frontier Great Camp slowly awakened like a fierce beast rousing after lying dormant for the night.
Wisps of cooking smoke rose, war horses neighed and roared, and soldiers’ laughter and curses filled the camp everywhere, as if they felt no pressure from war and death at all.
For them, they only needed to wait for the Divine Might Cannons to blast down the Liangzhou City Wall, then don their armor and charge into the city to loot and massacre.
War seemed that simple.
Meanwhile, the garrison on the Liangzhou City Wall had long become like startled birds.
Some young soldiers had not slept all night, huddling behind the city wall, their faces pale.
Even the experienced veterans gripped the battlements with knuckles white from tension, gazing at the yellow-white Sun and Moon Battle Flags blotting out the sky outside the city, their faces grave and panicked.
And at that moment, a rapid sound of hooves suddenly shattered the deathly silence on the city wall.
A Northern Frontier Soldier arrived below the city, his saber pointing straight at the city wall.
Dark red blood scabs seeped through his yellow cotton armor, gleaming with an intimidating aura in the morning light.
“Listen up, you rats of Liangzhou!” His voice carried on the morning wind, like a rusty knife scraping across the city wall.
“You have half a shichen left. Open the gates and surrender, offer full tribute, and my family’s Great Protector may still spare your lives!”
“If you dare resist to the last, when the city is breached, Liangzhou City will run red with blood! No survivors!”
With that, the Northern Frontier Soldier yanked the reins sharply, and the war horse reared up, its front hooves tracing a dangerous arc in the air:
He cast a disdainful glance at the Western Xia battle flag on the city wall, then turned his horse around and swaggered away.
But his words pierced like a poison-dipped dagger into the heart of every defending soldier.
The garrison gripped their weapons tightly, their knuckles slipping in cold sweat.
“Do they… really massacre cities?” New recruit Zhao Xiao Liu clutched the broken spear shaft, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his voice weaker than the wind through the wall cracks.
The corporal beside him spat a mouthful of bloody saliva, but his trembling fingers betrayed his calm: “Those dog Northern Frontier barbarians, when they breached Suzhou before, didn’t even spare nursing infants…”
“I heard they burned down the entire Shanle City in one big fire.”
“Those barbarians really dare to massacre cities.”
“Then let’s fight them! Even in death, take a few with us!”
No sooner had he spoken than an older veteran nearby said bitterly: “Fight with what? With our three thousand rabble, using our lives?”
He gazed at the dense yellow and white battle flags outside the city and murmured lowly: “My wife is still pregnant, if the city falls…”
“Quiet!”
Centurion Wang Tie’s roar exploded on the city wall, but could not hide the tremor in his trailing tone.
But things had come to this point; the officials and generals’ dignity had sunk to its lowest, and someone continued: “How about we open the gates and surrender quickly!”
“At least we can save our lives!”
Everyone knew that the officials inside the city had already sent people to contact the Northern Frontier Army, but the Great Protector of the Northern Frontier demanded all the land.
The officials were reluctant and had not yet made up their minds.
But these soldiers had no farmland in their hands; when push came to shove, survival was naturally most important.
“Roar roar roar~”
Soon after, unified shouts rose from the Northern Frontier Army camp outside the city, the sound waves shaking the city wall slightly, the Sun and Moon Battle Flags swaying like a forest, the raised dust obscuring half the sky.
The Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry, fed and watered, surged forth from east and west like a rolling steel flood.
“Boom boom boom boom~”
Cavalry in yellow cotton armor blazed like burning flames, knights in white cotton armor surged like crashing waves, yellow and white interwoven as the Sun and Moon Battle Flags snapped in the wind.
Li Xiao wore dark gold dragon pattern cotton armor and a tasseled helmet with sun, moon, and mountains, riding his war horse, his calm gaze fixed on distant Liangzhou City.
“It seems the parasites in the city still haven’t decided.”
“The land in their hands is indeed more important than the lives of all the common people in the city.”
With that, he abruptly drew his cavalry saber, his cold voice commanding: “Siege!”
“Woo woo woo woo~”
Low horn blasts echoed across the land, like an ancient war song from desolate antiquity, full of desolation and killing intent.
At the forefront of the army, ten Divine Might Cannons stood upon the land like monoliths, their black muzzles thrusting toward the heavens.
Wu Damao drew his cavalry saber, his ferocious face roaring: “Fire cannon.”
“Boom boom boom boom~”
A massive roar erupted between heaven and earth; the ten cannons spat blazing fire like primordial beasts, instantly devouring the space around the muzzles.
Feeling the city wall tremble beneath their feet, the soldiers on the wall fell into complete shock.
“Thunder God, the Thunder God is angry.”
“The deities stand with the Northern Frontier barbarians; we’re done for.”
“This isn’t deities; it’s the Northern Frontier barbarians’ gunpowder weapons. Stay calm, don’t panic.”
For Liangzhou City’s generals, the Northern Frontier cannons were no secret, but many were seeing their power with their own eyes for the first time.
Deeply shocked.
To think such a terrifying thing existed in the world—was it truly bestowed by deities upon the Northern Frontier People?
“Heavens! Why do you favor the Northern Frontier barbarians so~” A Liangzhou City official cried out in terror.
With him were other officials, generals, and nobles.
At this moment, they were utterly terrified, harboring no more illusions.
Liangzhou City’s walls could not protect them, Xingqing Prefecture was too far and powerless to send reinforcements; only one outcome awaited them.
“Surrender~”
Wang Hongchang screamed hoarsely at the others.
But before they could react, shouts came from afar: “The city gate is open.”
“The city gate is open.”
Hearing this, Su Binara, Wang Hongchang, and the others all went pale.
The defending soldiers must have opened the gate on their own.
Seeing the gates swing wide, Li Xiao slowly lowered his telescope and commanded gravely: “Order the Divine Machine Camp to cease fire.”
Just one volley had broken the courage of those inside the city; compared to land, they had chosen their lives again.
Li Xiao was happy with this—it saved cannonballs and reduced Northern Frontier Soldier casualties.
More importantly, it preserved the intact Liangzhou City Wall; defenses and such could be used directly by the Northern Frontier Army.
“Order all units, enter the city.”
The Shanle City incident was special and hard to repeat in Liangzhou City; moreover, scouts reported only three thousand garrison in the city, so Li Xiao wasn’t afraid of false surrender.
Thus, the last major stronghold on the Hexi Corridor, Liangzhou City, fell.
The entire Hexi Corridor bowed beneath the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry.
“The city is breached, the city is breached.”
“Northern Frontier barbarians are entering the city.”
Hearing the shouts from the street outside, Wei Daya’s face changed drastically; she steadied herself on the door, her vision darkening slightly, her body swaying.
She murmured: “Husband~”
Su Renli had been drafted as a strong laborer; now with the gates breached, she didn’t know what had happened to her man.
But right now, the most important thing was to protect herself and the children.
“Mother, take Er Pang and little sister into the cellar first; I’ll go find Father.”
Su Wuji rushed out from the inner room with a short bow, looking fierce as if ready to fight the Northern Frontier barbarians.
From a young age, he loved practicing with blades and spears, full of vigor; recently obsessed with bow and arrow, he had begged Wei Daya for a small bow.
Though the bow was short, its draw weight was substantial, fully four dou.
“Stop, don’t go out.”
Wei Daya grabbed Su Wuji’s shoulder.
The boy had inherited the Wei Family’s build; though young, he was strong, and in his rush, nearly pulled free from Wei Daya’s grasp.
“It’s dangerous outside; what can you do if you go?”
“Hurry and hide in the cellar.”
With that, she handed her youngest son to Su Wuji, then picked up her young daughter from beside and went to the cellar entrance in the kitchen.
The mother and three children lifted the wooden plank and crawled inside.
Soon after, a massive ‘clang’ echoed in the courtyard as the gate was violently kicked open.
Five disheveled soldiers hurried in, their eyes full of greed and fear.
“Quick, quick, search.”
“Take all valuables; the Northern Frontier barbarians are coming.”
The leading soldier waved his saber and shouted loudly.
The other four didn’t dare delay, splitting up to ransack the rooms for property and grain.
In every great chaos, man-made disasters follow.
These five were originally local ruffians in Liangzhou City, conscripted into the army.
But seeing the tide turn on the wall, they slipped back first thing.
Their goal clear: profit from the chaos.
They had no interest in ordinary homes, as those had no money.
Nor in wealthy households, as those surely had family guards, too much for their five to handle.
So, their targets were these modestly prosperous homes.
The Su family immediately caught their eye.
Su Renli was still at the wall; only a woman and three children remained at home—perfect for striking.
“Found it, lots of silver.”
A soldier in the bedroom suddenly shouted excitedly; he found a hole under the bed, pulled out a jar, and unearthed over two hundred taels of silver.
“Good, I knew Su Renli’s family had goods.” The leader, ruffian Wang Er, grinned.
He hurriedly found a piece of clothing and stuffed all the silver inside.
But at that moment, voices came from outside the door.
“Da Ya, Da Ya, Da Pang.”
It was Su Renli!
He held a wooden pole spear, wore a tattered jacket, with a broken iron shard tied to his chest with rope—his homemade armor.
Though crude, in today’s Liangzhou City it was treasure; even Wang Er and the others lacked such equipment.
Worried for his wife and children, he had fled back amid the chaos.
But seeing the courtyard scene, he froze instantly.
Everything was in disarray, items scattered and toppled, even the doors looked violently forced open.
Su Renli panicked, gripped his spear, rushed in shouting: “Da Ya, Da Pang, Er Pang~”
The next second, he saw Wang Er and the others: one clutching silver, the other four shouldering grain, preparing to leave.
“Wang Er?”
Su Renli was stunned.
They were all locals from the area, and Wang Er was a notorious street thug; he naturally knew him.
But as a juren scholar, he was always superior wherever he went and looked down on Wang Er’s ilk inwardly.
He never imagined running into them in his own home, and seeing the bulging bundles they held.
Su Renli’s heart sank, a bad premonition rising; his voice trembling, he asked: “Wang Er, what have you done to my wife and children?”
“Su Renli, get out of the way if you’re smart; I don’t have time to mess with you today.”
Wang Er’s heart tightened at the sight of Su Renli.
After all, as a juren, he knew many officials; some classmates were even in the prefect’s office, so he normally wouldn’t dare offend him.
But Wang Er’s mind turned: what time was it now?
The prefect might be done for; who cared about a mere juren?
With that, Wang Er prepared to leave with the silver and grain, but Su Renli was already in disarray.
“Stop right there; hand over my wife and children.”
Su Renli shouted loudly, summoning courage from somewhere, gripping the spear with both hands and thrusting at Wang Er.
Wang Er was used to street fights, far tougher than Su Renli.
He sidestepped the spearhead easily, then kicked out fiercely, sending Su Renli flying.
“Aaaah~”
Su Renli screamed as he flew two or three meters, face flushed red, writhing in agony on the ground.
His actions fully ignited Wang Er’s ferocity; he handed the silver to a lackey, his face growing fiercer.
“Su Renli, I wasn’t going to bother with you, but you don’t know when to quit.”
“No mercy for you today.”
With that, he advanced with saber in hand toward Su Renli, ready to slit his throat.
But then, a lackey behind shouted: “Boss, watch out.”
Wang Er spun around to see a child at the kitchen door.
“Su Renli’s eldest boy?”
Wang Er recognized Su Wuji but didn’t know his name, only that he was Da Pang, the kid king of the nearby streets.
Most crucially, he held a bow and arrow.
“Tch~”
Wang Er sneered, about to mock if this five- or six-year-old kid knew how to use a bow.
The next second, Su Wuji loosed the arrow.
“Swish~”
With a faint whoosh, the arrow struck Wang Er’s chest dead on.
“Ah~”
A scream rang out as Wang Er dropped to a squat.
Incredulous, he stared at the short arrow embedded in his chest; he never thought he’d really been hit.
Su Renli’s eldest, only five or six years old?
How could a child that age shoot at him so ruthlessly?
And how could he even draw the bow?
Wang Er was dumbfounded, screaming in pain; after several breaths, he roared at his four lackeys: “Kill them, kill them all.”
Su Wuji’s short bow was too weak; though it hit Wang Er, it only pierced flesh.
It didn’t kill him but fully aroused his savagery: “Kill everyone in the Su family clean.”
The lackeys charged at Su Wuji by the kitchen door.
Two steps into three, but as they neared the door, a spear thrust out from the kitchen.
“Pfft~”
A muffled pierce of flesh sounded; the lead soldier stiffened instantly.
He looked dazedly down at his chest, where a red-tasseled spear had pierced his heart; blood sprayed like a fountain, soon pooling on the ground.
“You you you~”
The soldier looked up at the spear’s wielder: a tall, sturdy woman in her twenties—none other than Su Renli’s wife.
The rumors were true!
This woman had really charged into a horse bandit lair alone, cut down the bandit leader, and rescued Su Renli?
“Thud!”
The soldier crashed heavily to the ground; the three behind jumped back in fright, staring in horror at Wei Daya and her children.
“Hmph, you’re courting death.”
Da Ya gripped the spear tightly, striding out with murderous intent, her heroic brows filled with fury.
If these defeated soldiers had just taken the silver and left, she wouldn’t have said anything, but they wanted to kill her man too.
Da Ya had to fight desperately.
She wanted Su Wuji to stay in the cellar, but the boy was stubborn and ran out with his bow.
No choice; mother and son would fight side by side.
But Da Ya truly didn’t want Su Wuji exposed to such bloodshed so young.
“Are you stupid pigs?”
“Scared by one woman and a little brat?”
“Charge, kill them, split the money, and we’ll all live well.” Wang Er cursed angrily.
But the next second, another scream rang out.
Another arrow from Su Wuji to the chest—not fatal, but painful.
Er Ya said coldly: “Da Pang, next time aim for their eyes.”
“Or aim for their crotches.”
Hearing this, Su Wuji nodded: “Got it, Mother!”
He nocked another arrow, aiming at a soldier’s eye.
Feeling the threat from the kid, the soldier was truly afraid.
He didn’t dare bet on the kid’s accuracy; blinded eyes meant ruin.
“Wait, hold on.” The soldier called to stop.
“We’ll take the silver and go, leave Liangzhou City forever.”
“If you won’t let us off, we all die together.”
He pointed his spearhead at the prone Su Renli, ready to take him down too.
Wei Daya considered, then nodded lightly: “Fine, take the silver.”
Sending them off with money was the best deal; money could be earned again.
But just as agreement neared, intense hoofbeats rang from the street.
“Boom boom boom boom~”
The thunderous power felt like a vise on the heart; Wei Daya’s face changed drastically at the sound.
Raised in the Northern Frontier, she knew war horse sounds too well.
By the sound, at least twenty war horses on the street.
With the imperial army defeated, only Northern Frontier Army could be on the streets now.
“Quick, Da Pang, hide in the cellar, don’t come out; take care of your siblings later.” Da Ya, panicked, shoved Su Wuji into the kitchen.
Though she was Northern Frontier folk, Han People there were a minority.
These Northern Frontier soldiers were likely Khitan People, Turkic People, and other nomadic people.
They shared no hometown bond with Wei Daya.
So, she was prepared to die.
Wang Er and the defeated soldiers panicked even more at the devilish sounds.
“They’re here, they’re here, the Northern Frontier barbarians are here.”
“Help me up quick~”
“Got any hiding spots in your house?”
These soldiers were utter panic; facing the wildling-demon Northern Frontier barbarians, they had no will to resist.
Meanwhile, Wei Xuan led his guard cavalry threading through the streets.
He only vaguely remembered visiting big sister’s home with grandfather when she married; he was very young then, memories blurred.
But fortunately, Liangzhou City hadn’t changed much these years; the layout remained.
Following fuzzy memory, Wei Xuan arrived outside the Su home.
“Whoa whoa~”
“This should be it?”
Wei Xuan reined in, turning to the adjacent small courtyard, matching his memory of big sister’s home.
But now, the courtyard gate stood wide open, as if violently forced.
Wei Xuan’s face darkened instantly, a bad premonition rising.
He had rushed here first upon entering the city, fearing chaos soldiers or clueless Northern Frontier soldiers harming big sister’s family.
Had he still been too late?
“Big sister~”
“Giddyup giddyup~”
Wei Xuan spurred his horse straight into the courtyard, personal guards following.
The instant he saw the scene, his eyes blazed with rage.
Blood, corpses, defeated soldiers, grain and silver scattered on the ground~
Everything screamed danger for big sister’s family.
“Big sister, big sister~”
Wei Xuan’s face twisted ferociously as he shouted, but no response came.
Because Da Ya was hiding Su Wuji in the kitchen cellar right then.
“Take them down~”
Wei Xuan grew more anxious, spear waving toward Wang Er and the others.
Killing these defeated soldiers was like slaughtering chickens, but he needed them to question about big sister.
Even the prone Su Renli, Wei Xuan didn’t recognize him at first, treating him as another defeated soldier to capture.
After all, only seen once, memory faded.
“Yes sir~”
The personal guards shouted, riding forward, lashing the defeated soldiers heavily with spears.
“Aaaah~ mercy, mercy~”
“We won’t dare again.”
“Mercy~”
The three defeated soldiers screamed for mercy; as ruffians, bullying the weak and fearing the strong was their nature.
They had been ready to abandon Wang Er and flee with the silver.
As a personal guard reached for Su Renli, Da Ya rushed from the kitchen, blocking him.
“What are you doing? I told you not to come out!” Su Renli crouched on the ground, face ashen.
He had just told Da Ya to hide with the kids, but this stubborn wife wouldn’t listen.
Da Ya shook her head firmly: “We are one; if you die, where can I hide?”
With that, war intent flashed on her heroic face; she leveled the spear at Wei Xuan.
She had seen the elite of Northern Frontier Cavalry; even without their famed riding and archery, their armor was beyond her spear’s pierce.
So she sensed husband and wife might fall today.
Her only worry was the three children.
“Da Pang, you must care for your siblings~”
Da Ya, resolved to die, eyed Wei Xuan, wondering if she could take this Northern Frontier general with her.
But she hadn’t noticed Wei Xuan’s face at all.
Back then, Wei Xuan was a child; now grown, changed too much.
Wei Xuan, seeing Da Ya’s appearance so familiar, felt his heart surge, eyes moistening.
Yes, this was his big sister.
Looks unchanged, temper unchanged, even that ruthless killer edge identical to before.
Wei Xuan smiled, mouth opening, murmuring: “Big sister~”
“Big sister!”
