Chapter 225: Gui Fang People’s Names Sound So Nice
Yun Ce guarded that burning coal pile for the entire night, but not only did no Gui Fang scouts come, even those knight-errants who liked to mutually raid Gui Fang scouts on the wasteland didn’t come.
He thought the fire he lit last night wasn’t big enough, so those people didn’t see it.
Doggy told him that actually many people saw the fire pile; it might be that the Gui Fang people thought this was a trap made by Han People, and the Han People similarly thought this was a trap set by Gui Fang people.
The two sides had been fighting back and forth for many, many years. No matter how strong their strength was, they wouldn’t easily step into a trap. In any case, entering a trap meant falling into a disadvantage.
This made Yun Ce somewhat annoyed. Based on his experience from the last time he came to Ghost King Mountain, as long as he lit a fire in the wilderness, curious scouts would immediately come to check it out. Now, no one was willing to get close; they just took a distant look and ran off.
It seemed that the last time he had fished too ruthlessly, and people were unwilling to take the bait.
With no other choice, Yun Ce could only ride his Red Date Horse, which was covered in coal ash and had turned dingy black all over, wandering the wasteland. If this suicidal behavior still couldn’t draw out Gui Fang experts, Yun Ce planned to raid a Gui Fang people’s barracks.
The Red Date Horse carried Yun Ce strolling across the wasteland for a whole day. Not to mention Gui Fang people, they didn’t even see a single Han Person, as if the two opposing sides had completely vanished.
On the third day, as Yun Ce was considering whether to raid a Gui Fang barracks to see if he could conveniently grab a few Mad Ox Knights or the like, Doggy’s tentacle pointed straight to the left.
Yun Ce walked less than five li to the left and saw a strong man carrying a pair of great axes on his back, walking alone along the mountain ridge. The mountains here weren’t high, but the ridge was extremely prominent, making this tall man’s presence equally eye-catching.
1 Seeing this strong man, Yun Ce couldn’t help laughing, because this guy was fishing just like him.
1 Yun Ce hadn’t caught any Gui Fang people, and naturally this Gui Fang person hadn’t caught any Han People either, so the two fishing enthusiasts naturally met up.
1 When Yun Ce walked straight over, the strong man had already lit a fire at the foot of the mountain. Seeing Yun Ce approach, he tossed over a leg from some unknown wild beast and said to Yun Ce, “Eat your fill before we fight.”
1 Yun Ce felt that what he said was very right—eat your fill before fighting; this was respect for life. He took the wine gourd from his waist and tossed it to the strong man, saying, “Have a sip. Good wine from Han Land—you Gui Fang people can’t drink this.”
1 The wild beast leg was already roasted; now it just needed a quick heat-up to eat. Yun Ce placed the beast leg over the fire to sear it while watching the strong man drink.
1 Neither asked if the wine and meat were poisoned; they just started eating and drinking.
1 Yun Ce used a knife to shave off bites of the sizzling, oily outer skin and ate a few mouthfuls. He glanced at the skin bag beside the strong man and laughed, “How’s that—no harvest?”
1 The strong man shook his head and said, “Lately, you Han lads have gotten smarter and aren’t willing to get close to me. Looks like your harvest isn’t good either?”
1 Yun Ce said regretfully, “I lit a fire pile at Ghost King Lake, thinking your Gui Fang scouts would definitely come take a look no matter what. Who knew, I waited in vain all night.”
1 The strong man returned the wine pot to Yun Ce, let out a long sigh, and said, “The way of battle is undergoing drastic changes. In the past, officers and soldiers’ bravery was the key to killing the enemy and winning. Now it’s different; the role of the individual is becoming less and less obvious, and they’re starting to emphasize the strength of the collective.”
2 Yun Ce said, “Past wars were about the number of enemies killed; future wars will be about occupying materials and potential resources. No matter how powerful an individual’s martial prowess, one person can’t take away more materials, so the scale and frequency of collective battles will definitely increase greatly.”
2 The strong man looked at Yun Ce for a moment, nodded, and said, “What you say makes sense. Winters on the Qingshui River Plateau are long and harsh, and the land is barren and rugged.
2 Over these years, the number of our Gui Fang clan starving to death has been steadily increasing. This isn’t a good sign.”
2 Yun Ce sighed and said, “It’s the same with Han People here. The number of commoners is decreasing day by day, while slaves are increasing. If this continues, Great Han will have big problems too.”
2 The strong man laughed and said, “War is inevitable.”
2 Yun Ce laughed and said, “Only through large-scale war can you Gui Fang people effectively reduce your population, so the output on the Qingshui River Plateau can support your clan.
2 Han People also hope to use a brutal war to remold Great Han’s scattered hearts into one.
2 Speaking of which, war is something both our sides need. I just can’t figure out why our two sides’ higher-ups are still hesitating and unwilling to launch war immediately.”
2 The strong man laughed and said, “I hear your Grand Marshal and Emperor are killing each other with rivers of blood in Chang’an City, and the three hundred military prefectures outside the capital are all brimming with ambition. That should be why your Emperor is delaying the launch of war, right?”
2 Yun Ce said, “Black Wind Great King’s feet have more and more holes; that should also be why your High Priest isn’t sending troops immediately, right?”
3 “Eh, you actually know about the Black Devil.”
3 Yun Ce took a bite of the beast leg and said, “I don’t even know your name yet. I’m called Liu Chang’an.”
3 The strong man laughed and said, “A child of the Liu Changsheng family? I’m called Shen Tingyu.”
3 Yun Ce held the beast leg as if lost in memories, and only after a long while said, “Some time ago, in Pingzhou, I slept with a Gui Fang woman called Shen Lexi. She had a maid called Liu Ruyan with her at the time—pretty good. One night cost me over twenty large fish maws…”
3 Before Yun Ce finished speaking, a great axe came chopping down at his head. Yun Ce held the beast leg and retreated several steps in a row before finally creating distance between them.
3 The strong man was panting like an ox. Yun Ce raised the beast leg and said puzzledly, “To us Han People, Gui Fang women being communal isn’t any secret. Gui Fang women sleeping with Han men—you’re the ones getting the advantage. Brother, why are you so angry?”
3 The strong man forcibly suppressed his anger, trying to calm himself completely. He could tell that this guy called Liu Chang’an in front of him was no pushover.
3 Yun Ce tossed aside the beast leg, took the horse spear from the Red Date Horse, and gripped it in his hand, saying, “If I’d known this Shen Lexi was related to you, I wouldn’t have used fish maws and would have left some for your Shen clan…”
3 A short-handled great axe came spinning at him silently. One moment it was in Shen Tingyu’s hand, the next it was at Yun Ce’s face. Yun Ce dodged to the side; as the great axe flew past his body, it surprisingly changed from a cleaving chop to a horizontal slash. Yun Ce hurriedly used the horse spear to deflect it horizontally, finally knocking the great axe away.
3 Just as he was about to attack, another great axe came spinning in a horizontal slash.
4 With no choice, Yun Ce continued retreating. Unexpectedly, the great axe he had just deflected came chasing after him again. Yun Ce roared, smashing the horse spear onto the great axe. With a crack, the originally extremely tough spear shaft split into a twisted mess, while the knocked-down great axe bounced on the ground like a frog, seeming as if it would fly up again the next moment.
4 Yun Ce snapped the horse spear and hurled the spear blade at Shen Tingyu. While he dodged, Yun Ce took out two new meteor hammers from the Dragon Pearl.
4 These were refined steel meteor hammers specially made for him by Huo Liao. Not only was the entire hammer head surface hardened, those ferocious spikes had even undergone bluing treatment—they were Yun Ce’s current favorite main weapon.
4 Seeing his erratic great axe smashed flying who-knows-where by Yun Ce’s hammer, Shen Tingyu gripped his remaining great axe and said, “You know Lexi?”
4 Yun Ce laughed, “Now you want to stall for time?
4 Now you’re not angry anymore about your little sister being slept with by me?
4 What are you pretending for? You’re clearly just an idiot pig, yet you spout words that only a real man would say. Aren’t you just waiting for your accomplices to arrive sooner?
4 If you’d held your temper earlier and finished telling me the romantic affair with your sister, I might’ve at least praised you for endurance.
4 I despise you types who can only endure halfway the most. No wonder everyone says the animal nature of the Gui Fang people is still hard to conceal—looks like it’s true.”
4 No sooner had he spoken than Shen Tingyu swung his great axe and chopped at Yun Ce. Before he could close the distance, a meteor hammer whistled through the air like a shooting star. Shen Tingyu exhaled sharply, raised the great axe high, and chopped down with all his strength, knocking the meteor hammer to the ground.
5 The moment the great axe touched the meteor hammer, Shen Tingyu knew it was bad. He had just looked up when the other meteor hammer smashed heavily into his left shoulder with a force of a thousand jun, turning half of Shen Tingyu’s body into minced meat with one blow.
5 Without needing Yun Ce to say anything, Doggy’s tentacle eagerly plunged into Shen Tingyu’s intact half-body.
5 It was clear that Shen Tingyu’s mouth was opening and closing nonstop, as if he had something important to say. Yun Ce ignored it—what was important to him wasn’t important to Yun Ce. Better to let him conserve some energy so Doggy could suck a bit longer.
5 In the time it took half a incense stick to burn, the burly Shen Tingyu had become half a mummy. Yun Ce picked up the axe he had smashed flying, roughly chopped up the mummy, and tossed it into a pit to bury it.
5 After carefully studying the great axe and seeing the transparent silk threads tied to the handle, Yun Ce finally understood why this guy’s great axe could fly back and forth freely.
5 It was the final heavy blow from the meteor hammer that snapped the threads.
5 Even so, such tough threads were a rare treasure. They should come in handy for ambushes in the future.
5 Shen Tingyu’s reinforcements were late in coming, but Yun Ce wasn’t anxious. He retrieved the discarded beast leg and continued roasting it over the fire. Shen Tingyu might not have been much of a person, but the wild beast he hunted tasted really good.
5 “Just a Thousand-man General—not enough.” Doggy’s voice rang in Yun Ce’s head again.
5 “No rush, there are still reinforcements. I reckon this guy was bait they sent out, just waiting for Han People to take it. Probably for safety, they made their encirclement a bit large.”
