Chapter Sixty-Five: Ambush!

On the battlefield of cold weapons, individual heroism often proves invaluable.

Especially in small-scale skirmishes, a single fierce warrior can strike such terror into the enemy that they scatter in panic. As for Li Yun now, perhaps he might not yet excel in a formal army formation, but amid these bandit clashes, he was akin to a god of slaughter.

So long as these foes did not flee, his spear alone could have cut down more than half their number.

However, even in this era, when a regular army suffered thirty percent casualties, it might already collapse—never mind these untrained mountain bandits. By the time Li Yun leapt onto the grain cart, the bandits had already started to flee in all directions.

Zhang Hu, wielding his broadsword, charged after them, cutting down two or three more, but the rest were already out of reach.

Of the more than twenty bandits from the Ten Kings Stronghold, only seven or eight managed to escape.

Li Zheng had also dealt with one of the bandits and, panting, hurried over to Li Yun. “Second… Second Brother, what do we do now?”

“Burn it.”

Li Yun jumped down from the grain cart and ordered, “Take the horses and ride. Burn all these carts of grain.”

“What?” someone cried in shock. “Chief, it would be a waste to burn all this food.”

Li Yun looked up at the sky and said, “We’re too close to Lingyang Mountain and too far from Cangshan. If we try to take this grain, we won’t be able to get away. Burn it all and let’s return to Cangshan at once to prepare for battle!”

Two months ago, there were only about fifty people at the Cangshan stronghold, including a dozen young men from Hexi. But now, at the foot of the mountain, there were nearly a hundred more retainers.

These retainers were not as fierce or capable as the bandits, but they could bolster their numbers and help in a fight.

At Li Yun’s command, the group swiftly set fire to the five grain carts. As flames roared up, Li Yun took off his mask and tucked it away, then shouted, “Move out! Back to Cangshan!”

...

Just over an hour after Li Yun and his men had left, a group of more than a dozen riders arrived near the burned wagons. Their leader was a man in his forties with a long scar slanting across his face. He dismounted, glanced at the burning carts, and his expression grew grim.

“Did that man really say they were from Cangshan Stronghold?”

A bandit, his face marked by wounds, bowed his head nervously. “Yes, Chief. The man wore a mask and said plainly he was Li Yun of Cangshan.”

“Li Yun…”

The middle-aged man clasped his hands behind his back and narrowed his eyes, silent for a long time.

After some time, a thin, scholarly-looking middle-aged man bowed and reminded him, “Chief, two months ago, our boys caught a suspicious character down the mountain. Under questioning, he admitted to being from Cangshan. The Second Chief wanted to teach them a lesson, so he broke the man’s arm and sent him back. Later, someone from Cangshan came to apologize and brought some money to redeem the man. We all thought the matter was settled, but it seems they took it as a blood feud. They’ve been watching us these two months—even found our grain carts.”

The chief of Ten Kings Stronghold was surnamed Tong. Among the local outlaws, he was known as Big Brother Tong, or to his peers in the seven or eight counties around Xuanzhou, as the King of Lingyang.

Now, Big Brother Tong finally recalled something. “I remember now. There’s a stronghold on Cangshan, led by a chief called Li Pockmark—I’ve met him. But I heard not long ago that Pockmark died of illness. This Li Yun…”

The scholar said slowly, “He must be the younger Li—Little Pockmark.”

“No one but the young and reckless would do something so foolish. Not just in Qingyang, but in all of Xuanzhou, no one has dared challenge you like this for years.”

“Young and reckless…” Big Brother Tong sneered. “Those who are too rash rarely live long. Third Brother!”

The scholar bowed quickly. “Here!”

“Gather the men.” Tong gripped his steel blade, fury in his eyes. “If we don’t wipe out this Little Pockmark and his stronghold, the whole underworld of Xuanzhou will laugh at Lingyang Mountain!”

The third chief nodded at once. “Yes, I’ll see to it.”

...

Cangshan Stronghold.

Li Yun sat on the tiger-skin chair and, for once, summoned everyone of influence in the stronghold. After explaining the situation, he slapped the table and declared, “In short, our enemies may soon come knocking. We have no choice but to fight!”

“Thin Monkey.”

Li Zheng stood up at once. “Second Brother, I’m here!”

“Go down the mountain now. Find the village head of Li Family Village and tell him a large force of bandits may soon come to Cangshan. These men are ruthless killers. He should take the villagers and leave for two or three days—return in three days.”

Thin Monkey agreed and turned to go, but was stopped by Yuan Zhengming, the second-in-command, who had not involved himself in stronghold affairs for some time. He stood up, looked at Li Yun, and said slowly, “Chief, I shouldn’t interfere with stronghold matters, but now that a great enemy is at hand, shouldn’t we abandon the village below and focus all our strength on defending the mountain passes? Even if Thin Monkey goes, the villagers may not listen to us.”

Li Yun frowned, then said in a deep voice, “Thin Monkey!”

Li Zheng hesitated no longer and hurried out.

Li Yun looked up at Yuan Zhengming, forcing a strained smile. “Second Uncle, I caused this trouble—I’ll deal with it. You needn’t worry.”

“What are you saying?” Yuan Zhengming slammed the table and said angrily, “Heizi was killed and a feud was made—no one blames you for this clash!”

“In that case,” Li Yun stood up, planting both hands on the table and glaring around fiercely, “we do things my way. Everyone follows my orders!”

...

The next evening, Big Brother Tong led eighty or ninety fierce bandits to the foot of Cangshan.

Unlike the county officials’ men who had come before, these outlaws were hardened by years in the mountains—especially those from Lingyang, towering over their rivals.

To them, Cangshan was no different from flat ground.

“Boss,” said Zhou, the third chief of Ten Kings Stronghold and their strategist, bowing slightly. “I asked around—that’s Cangshan ahead, and the village is Li Family Village.”

“Go into the village,” commanded Big Brother Tong coldly, waving his hand. “Grab a couple of people to lead us up the mountain!”

Unfamiliar with the terrain, they needed local guides. Bandits swallowing up each other was hardly unusual, and as the largest stronghold in Qingyang, Big Brother Tong knew the ways well.

So, a group of eighty or ninety men swept into the village. Some bandits already wore vicious grins, eager to spill blood before the ascent to steel their courage.

Li Family Village was small—barely a hundred households. When the villagers saw bandits entering, they hurried indoors in panic.

The third chief, Zhou, led four or five bandits and kicked open a yard’s fence gate, swaggering into the courtyard.

“Stop hiding—we saw you come in!” he barked. “Get out here and answer me!”

From the earthen house came a trembling voice, “Great King, we have no money…”

“Whether you have money is not for you to say!” roared the third chief, kicking the door open and cursing, “Ingrate! I’ll have your—”

But his last word—“life”—never left his lips.

“Ah!” he cried out in shock.

For inside that unremarkable house were six or seven men, all armed!

At their front stood none other than Zhang Hu.

He seized the third chief, dragged him inside, clamped a hand over his mouth, and with the other drove a short blade into his chest.

As the third chief fell silent, the bandits behind surged in, but Zhang Hu, now wielding a long knife, leapt out and, catching them off guard, cut down another.

At the same time, in another house, Li Yun—masked—had already slain a bandit, discarded his short blade, seized a spear, and with a furious shout charged the Ten Kings bandits before him.

“Kill!”

Dressed as villagers, the Cangshan bandits hidden in Li Family Village erupted as one.

In an instant, the once peaceful village was filled with the sounds of slaughter.