Chapter 230: Wandering Knight
Xiao Man is not directionally challenged; on the contrary, her memory is very good. A road she hurriedly passed once felt not the slightest bit unfamiliar or unpleasant the next time.
This even shocked Zhao Qi, the guy who specializes in remembering routes.
Xiao Man sat on the Thunder Smoke Beast’s buttocks, unable to find an opportunity to raid the Man in White, and was feeling sullen when she heard Zhao Qi say, “It’s not far ahead.”
Xiao Man looked at the black hill on the horizon and said, “Not that direction, to the left. We should head toward the desert.”
Zhao Qi said softly, “How can you remember it so clearly?”
Xiao Man teared up and said, “I was originally planning to come back alone to collect Brother Liu’s corpse after you all were safe. Now it seems I was wrong; Brother Liu’s corpse probably wouldn’t have anything left.”
Everyone looked in the direction Xiao Man pointed and saw countless scavenger birds circling in the sky at the edge of the desert. These birds have very large mouths and great strength; one bite can swallow half a pound of rotten flesh.
“I should have hidden away and come out to collect Brother Liu’s corpse after the Mad Ox Knights left.”
Xiao Man was extremely sad and kept shedding tears. The other two women among the seven also began to sob, while the four men remained silent.
1 The Man in White’s hands trembled severely. Such a large number of scavenger birds could not have been attracted by just one corpse; there must be a large number of corpses here.
1 Liu Chang’an had fallen in battle—at most one man and one horse, not enough to feed so many scavenger birds. The only reason for so many scavenger birds here was that the side with more people had died.
1 When they reached the battlefield, the Man in White took off the axe on his back and casually flung it out. The great axe plowed a bloody path through the dense scavenger birds, and the remaining scavenger birds panicked and flew into the sky. The horrific battlefield finally appeared before everyone’s eyes.
1 First to come into view were three Mad Bull corpses as tall as mounds. The originally bright-coated, sleek Mad Bulls now had one blood hole after another pecked out by scavenger birds, no longer showing their initial ferocity, with corpses scattered over a hundred-zhang radius, eaten by scavenger birds in a horrific state.
1 However, even more Gui Fang people corpses appeared around the three Mad Bull corpses. The corpses here even formed a corpse mountain, and the blood flowing from the corpse mountain had formed a blackened blood lake in the depression.
1 The ignorant and fearless Xiao Man even forgot the terror of the Man in White and actively ran back and forth to help the Man in White count exactly how many Gui Fang people had died here.
1 To ensure the accuracy of the number, she even neglected to bury them and personally pulled corpses down from the corpse mountain, determined to clearly tally the number of dead Gui Fang people.
1 Zhao Qi and the others were also helping. Unlike Xiao Man, who had great confidence in Yun Ce, the six of them, though also checking the corpses, actually wanted to verify if Liu Chang’an was among them.
1 “Three hundred and two, all Gui Fang people. We’ve stacked them up for you. Shall we light the fire now?”
1 Xiao Man happily reported the number to the Man in White.
2 The Man in White’s eyes were vacant; it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence.
2 “It should be three hundred and three. That’s three complete centurions, plus three Mad Ox Knights. You missed one.”
2 Xiao Man laughed, “Could it be that Brother Liu scared him off?”
2 The Man in White shook his head and said, “Gui Fang has no warriors who flee in battle.”
2 “Then Brother Liu must have captured him.”
2 The Man in White continued shaking his head, “In a battle fought to this extent, there are no survivors. You didn’t count carefully; keep looking. Maybe you can piece together one more from those limbs and severed arms.”
2 “After we help you dispose of the corpses, are you going to kill our seven?” Xiao Man fiddled with the limbs and severed arms while carefully asking the Man in White.
2 The Man in White nodded and said, “Yes, they died miserably. Without a human sacrifice, their lost souls will be restless.”
2 Xiao Man glanced at Zhao Qi and Sheng Rong smiling and embracing each other, then said to the Man in White, “Can you just kill me? I’m still a virgin, and not only is my body fair, it’s also fragrant—the best sacrifice.
2 The six of them won’t do; using them as sacrifices would dissatisfy you fallen officers and soldiers.”
3 The Man in White looked thoughtfully at Xiao Man’s big, black-and-white eyes and said, “You are a very good woman, willing to sacrifice yourself to protect your companions—very rare.
3 A pure girl like you would qualify even for ancestral sacrifice. Unfortunately, I’m in a very bad mood today and can’t appreciate your goodness, so you all must die today.
3 For you, I’ll strike lightly; you’ll feel like you’re falling asleep, without any pain.”
3 Xiao Man blinked her eyes and smiled, “I’m actually not afraid of pain. In Luoyang, I often thought before bed about how to kill Gui Fang people and how I might be killed by Gui Fang people.
3 Even in my most beautiful dreams, I never imagined that when I died, three hundred and three Gui Fang people would be buried with me, let alone that among them were three Mad Ox Knights treasured by Gui Fang people.
3 I think my death is well worth it.”
3 The Man in White sighed and said, “You see, this is the ugliness of war. Its only effect is to destroy beauty, leaving ugliness everywhere, and in a war, the first to die are often the best people.
3 War is like a sieve, filtering out the good people to die, letting the bad ones live, making the world we survive in become more and more like them—worse and worse.
3 I don’t approve of war, but who made me a Gui Fang person? Existing in my tribe makes me one of them. Even someone as wise as me can’t escape being swept up by the tribe into doing things I don’t want to do, even things I deeply hate.
3 Fine, I’ll play a Requiem《 for you to comfort your helpless souls, and may your souls leap over these endless mountains and return to the dreams of those who love you…
4 Just as the Man in White took out a flute, a cold gleam flashed from Xiao Man’s sleeve, and a silver spike shot straight toward the Man in White’s back. At the same time, Zhao Qi, Sheng Rong, and the others launched an attack on the Man in White. This time, no one held back, and no one thought they could survive.
4 Xiao Man’s silver spike broke as soon as it appeared. Zhao Qi’s long saber broke as soon as it touched near the Man in White. The broken blade pieces thudded against the others’ bodies. Zhao Qi was kicked flying backward by the Man in White, landing on the ground again like his companions.
4 The Man in White didn’t take their raid and siege seriously. He found a slightly cleaner patch of sand to sit on, facing the setting sun and the red clouds on the horizon, and began playing the flute with a woo woo woo sound.
4 As the flute sounded, the scavenger birds still hoping for scraps of remains flapped their wings and flew high. After circling once in the sky reddened by the afterglow, they flew toward the direction of the sun.
4 The flute melody was melodious and winding, but mostly contained sorrow and thick reluctance.
4 Xiao Man cried out loud for the first time. She felt she should have gotten married before coming out; that way, Xue Cheng would truly be hers. Even if she died, with Xue Cheng’s personality, he absolutely wouldn’t remarry, and she would be remembered by a handsome man for life… Now it was all ruined. There were too many women in Luoyang coveting Xue Cheng’s beauty; he would definitely be forced by his mother to remarry.
4 As Xiao Man wailed loudly, Zhao Qi painfully crawled to Sheng Rong’s side, grasped her outstretched hand, spat out the blood in his mouth, and said to Sheng Rong, “I harmed you.”
4 Sheng Rong spat blood and smiled, “As long as you don’t betray me, it’s not harm.”
4 Zhao Qi looked at the other four companions huddled together and said, “See you in the next life.”
4 Though unwilling in their hearts, the few exchanged smiles. Death it was…
5 The flute melody slid continuously from high notes until it faded away completely.
5 The Man in White took a palm-sized jade bottle from his bosom, tossed it onto the corpse mountain, lit the fire seed and threw it onto the corpse mountain as well. Immediately, a bright yellow flame rose from the corpse mountain. This flame was extremely dazzling, spreading downward like flowing water, instantly covering the entire corpse mountain.
5 Seeing the flames cover the corpse mountain, the Man in White leaned forward slightly, hand on chest, and said a few words in Gui Fang language that the others couldn’t understand to the fire, then turned to look at Xiao Man and said, “You’re the first.”
5 Xiao Man wiped her snot and tears and said, “Brother Liu will avenge us.”
5 The Man in White gritted his teeth and said, “I now desperately hope he appears here. Compared to the others, he would be the best sacrifice.”
5 No sooner had the words fallen than a horse neigh came from the nearby bushes, followed by heavy hoofbeats from the bushes. The hoofbeats started distant but instantly thundered like lightning. The scavenger birds originally hiding in the bushes could no longer hide and fled in panic.
5 An extremely majestic reddish-brown Thunder Smoke Beast ignored the thorny bushes, stepped over the scavenger birds’ corpses, and appeared before everyone.
5 Yun Ce sat on the horse, looked at the Man in White, and smiled, “Old Shen, we’ve met again. I overheard your Requiem《 earlier and composed a poem. How about we settle our old scores after you hear it?”
5 Shen Tingyu bowed and said, “I’m all ears.”
5 Yun Ce recited loudly: “White horse with golden bridle, galloping swiftly northwest. Whose son do you ask? A wandering knight from You and Bing. Left home young from the village, fame spreads in the desert.”
6 “Nights grasping fine bow, arrows what varied flight. Draw string break left target, right shot shatter moon branch. Raise hand catch flying ape, bend body scatter horse hooves. Cunning swift beyond monkey ape, brave fierce like leopard dragon.”
6 “Frontier city many alarms urgent, enemy cavalry often migrate. Urgent dispatches from north come, fierce horse climb high embankment.”
6 “Abandon body at blade’s edge, life and death how to cherish? Parents not even regarded, what of son and wife! Name listed in brave warriors’ roster, no middle glance to private. Give body for nation’s peril, view death sudden as return.”
6 “Shen Tingyu, what do you think?”
6 Shen Tingyu’s bitter face brightened since seeing Yun Ce, and he laughed heartily, “Good poem, good poem. Only thus does it not betray my long journey here for you.”
