Chapter 39: Having No Stance Is The Greatest Stance
The pig-headed person jumped onto the roof and ran away, and the rebel army once again fiercely fought against the people from the City Lord’s Mansion. This time, without the ferocious Zhang Yaliang, the rebel army finally showed their inherent savage strength.
As the people from the City Lord’s Mansion continuously retreated, Zhang Yaliang on the ground had already been stripped bare like a bald pig, his limp face pressed against the ground, soaking a large patch of land.
When Yun Ce returned to the guesthouse, it had already started burning. In the firelight, E Ji was holding a crossbow, forcing the old man and the maidservant to help her carry the jars filled with meat.
At the entrance of the guesthouse where they were staying, the young shop assistant lay on the ground, his chest pierced with crossbow bolts, deader than dead.
Just by looking at the scene, Yun Ce guessed what had happened. During the day, they had exchanged so much money, and with the man gone, the shop assistant and the old man thought to make a quick fortune. In the end, the main robber was shot dead by E Ji.
Sometimes, Yun Ce overlooked that E Ji herself had grown up in the wasteland. She was not some delicate eldest daughter from a great household, but a half-wildman who could use countless means for survival.
Yun Ce chuckled lightly and jumped down from the roof. E Ji’s hand holding the crossbow didn’t tremble at all. Her small face, turned toward the sound, was already covered in tears.
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
“If I didn’t want you, what would you do?”
“I’d drive the horse carriage back to Hekou Village.”
1 Yun Ce raised his hand to wipe the tears from her face, joking, “What are you thinking? I just went out to handle some business. The money and grain are all with you. Without you, what would I eat?”
1 E Ji broke into laughter through her tears, wiped her face with her sleeve, and nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes.” She even ignored the old man and the maidservant fleeing.
1 Yun Ce loaded everything onto the sheep cart. They couldn’t stay in Pingyuan City anymore. Next, this place would become a living hell. Those refugees living worse than cattle and horses outside would now enter the city—who knew what they would do.
1 The people in the rebel army either had blood feuds with the government officials or were people suppressed by them with no hope of rising. When such a group vented their anger, honestly, they could do things more savage than wild beasts.
1 Before the city breaking, Yun Ce had some use. Now that the city was broken, as someone outside the rebel army organization, if he didn’t join them, being settled accounts with was almost inevitable.
1 It was better to take advantage of the pig-headed person still having some deterrence and stay far away from this broken city.
1 Yun Ce wanted to leave quickly, but E Ji wanted to empty the entire guesthouse, mainly because there were many things here she didn’t have, like the low table, like the screen, like…
1 After Yun Ce loaded the last bag of wheat from the kitchen onto the sheep cart, the cart was packed full. The two had no place to sit, so Yun Ce tossed E Ji onto the roof, and he walked alongside driving the cart.
1 On the main street, they weren’t the only ones returning fully loaded. It seemed the resistance forces in the city had mostly been eliminated. The rebel army they encountered had spoils hanging from their shoulders, happily darting from one house to another.
1 For the cries of “daddy” and “mommy” in the city, E Ji seemed even more accustomed than Yun Ce. Even seeing a woman being carried away, crying as if dying, E Ji remained unmoved. Instead, she focused on the woman’s embroidered skirt, her eyes burning with intense desire.
2 To ordinary people, this scene was tragic. But to E Ji, who lived in Hekou Village, grain being robbed, father slaughtered, mother humiliated, and little children dying of hunger—this was just her daily life before.
2 Wildmen would kill them, unscrupulous caravans would kill them, inexplicable guests would kill them, and even some passing armies couldn’t resist bullying them a bit.
2 So, the fate of that woman in the embroidered skirt wasn’t anything to grieve over. By her logic, the woman being bullied and still alive was already pretty good.
2 Yun Ce had never experienced such a brutal scene before. Now experiencing it firsthand, he began to understand why Yun Linchuan’s heart was so hard. Compared to his experiences, sending his own descendants on suicide missions wasn’t unacceptable.
2 When Yun Ce drove the sheep cart to that pavilion, it had already burned into a massive torch. Flames spurted from all four sides of the pavilion, like flowing water—except this water didn’t flow down but roiled upward.
2 That big horn sheep retreated repeatedly under the scorching flames. Yun Ce soaked a piece of cloth in water, draped it over the sheep, blindfolded its eyes, did the same to E Ji, then led the sheep cart past the pavilion. Shortly after he passed, it collapsed.
2 Miss Hong guarded the back door, corpses strewn everywhere. She stood atop the pile of corpses, exposed in the firelight, wielding a four-meter wooden spear pointed at the crowd jammed at the city gate.
2 Pei Chuan was there too, right behind Miss Hong. His position was clever, in a patch of shadow, with a few others nearby who also seemed at the end of their crossbows.
2 With them blocking the door, no one from the city could get out. Yun Ce didn’t know when he had stowed the pig head mask, now squeezed together with a group of trembling rich folk.
2 The able fighters had already gone forward and been killed. Now left were just the old, weak, women, and children. Seeing more rebel army surging from behind, these people who usually lived in luxury despaired and began weeping.
3 Yun Ce had no intention of going forward to befriend Miss Hong this bandit. He was now a senior talent recommended by Pingyuan City City Lord Zhang Yaliang to Chuyun Prefecture, and couldn’t get entangled with bandits.
3 Originally planning to drive out alone, after seeing these lambs to the slaughter at the city gate, Yun Ce felt he needed to think more. Relying only on Zhang Yaliang’s recommendation letter wasn’t enough; he needed these people to vouch for him—that would be the safest way.
3 Miss Hong had long been soaked in blood, and though now majestic, she was also at the end of her crossbow. So Yun Ce picked up a crossbow, broke off the bolt heads, loaded these wooden sticks, and pulled the trigger at the rear end of the foremost big horn sheep.
3 That docile big horn sheep let out a miserable bleat, dragging the cart compartment straight toward Miss Hong. Under Yun Ce’s continuous trigger pulls, more big horn sheep charged madly at the one-woman gate.
3 Miss Hong’s spear pierced the big horn sheep’s chest, but the sheep snapped the shaft of her spear in that instant, still hurtling toward her with immense momentum.
3 She leaped high onto the horse carriage, grabbed a fat old man from the speeding cart, and smashed him brutally to the ground. But she didn’t anticipate the already dead big horn sheep, propelled by the cart compartment, crashing headfirst into the city wall.
3 Though Pei Chuan and the others bravely intercepted two horse carriages, the rest seized the chance to rush through the broken city gate toward the wilderness.
3 Yun Ce’s sheep cart naturally went out too. Before leaving, he tossed a bright red fruit at the furious Miss Hong.
3 The red fruit was something he found in the public office of that pavilion. It tasted good—though a bit sour, eating a few more bites made it sweet.
3 In the firelight, Miss Hong saw Yun Ce’s face and E Ji curiously watching her from atop the sheep cart. Their smiles were both eerie. If she had to explain the meaning of the smiles, Miss Hong thought these two were definitely mocking her as a fool.
4 The furious Miss Hong bit the fruit in her mouth and hurled the broken spearhead with all her might at the just-departed Yun Ce.
4 The spearhead clattered onto the stone pavement, like the most helpless sigh.
4 Pei Chuan came over gasping, “I’ll gather some warhorses and go chase them.”
4 Miss Hong shook her head. The sudden scene just now had clearly told her these were people protected by Liu Chang’an. Pursuing recklessly would surely provoke Liu Chang’an’s counterattack.
4 This was a very mysterious person—one moment like an ally of the rebel army, actively strategizing for them; the next sympathizing with those who devoured the people’s fat and oil, leading them to flee. In short, an unfathomable person.
4 “No need. Those who escaped are just useless people. Hurry and repair this city gate. We must fully control Pingyuan City before dawn.”
4 Pei Chuan licked his parched lips, inwardly lamenting the pity. Among the escaping carriages was City Lord Zhang Yaliang’s youngest daughter—a beauty that could topple cities and countries.
4 Once the sheep cart was out of the city, Yun Ce slowed his pace. He felt he had given Miss Hong a clear enough signal; she shouldn’t blindly chase out.
4 Though tonight was a night of killing and arson, the moon was exceptionally bright. Though it rose when the slaughter was already in its later stages, it still lit their path.
4 After walking an hour, Pingyuan City had vanished from the horizon. Instead, the rising thick smoke somewhat veiled the moonlight, like draping a black gauze over the moon, making it mysterious and beautiful.
5 “┗|｀O′|┛ Aoo~~” E Ji stood on the cart roof howling at the wasteland. She was very excited; the excitement overflowed her body—if not vented, it would suffocate her alive.
5 Those who left Pingyuan City ahead had long driven their carriages out of sight, leaving only Yun Ce’s single cart trudging alone in the moonlight.
5 “A Ce, where are we going next? Still to the road’s end?”
5 “Mm, I heard the end of all roads is Chang’an, so we’re going to Chang’an.”
5 “What’s in Chang’an? Is there grain for fodder, bean pods to eat?”
5 “Yes, Chang’an has everything. As long as you have money, you can eat the best things.”
5 “I have a pile of money.”
5 “Not enough!”
5 “Then we’ll make more money, like what you earned this time in Pingyuan City. I’ll make more money too, and then we’ll eat all the best food in Chang’an together.”
5 “Good, as you wish.”
6 Yun Ce’s big horn sheep seemed very familiar with this road. With minimal intervention, it could pull the cart itself, even automatically avoiding some depressions.
6 So Yun Ce jumped onto the cart roof too, lying with E Ji watching the huge bright moon in the sky following the sheep cart, slowly moving along.
