Chapter 116: Better to Die Than Submit

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From the corner of his eye, Kong Sheng glanced at Li Xuan’s coldly beautiful face beside him. Seeing the faint, confident smile playing at the corners of her lips, he suddenly understood. The newcomers were undoubtedly Li Xuan’s people. Yet it was obvious that her merchant caravan could not possibly have arrived so quickly. These men were clearly reinforcements she had stationed in advance along the Chu Prefecture frontier.

And judging by appearances, this was not the only contingent she had arranged beforehand. That was only natural. Her journey south of the Yangtze to purchase and transport grain was of enormous importance. To secretly convey the provisions she had acquired back north of the river, she had poured her heart and soul into the undertaking and exhausted every possible stratagem. She had considered every “oversight” and every detail, preparing contingencies for them all. The only piece on the board she had not anticipated was Kong Sheng, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Sure enough, more than twenty horsemen came charging toward them. The riders carried long sabers and wore black martial garb. They radiated murderous intent, their faces stern and grim. The leader dismounted, then respectfully knelt in Li Xuan’s direction.

“This humble guard, Zhang Zhao, arrived late. I beg forgiveness, Young Master!”

Li Xuan, looking refreshed and entirely at ease in the saddle, waved a hand indifferently.

“You have worked hard.”

Without even glancing at Nangong Wang’s water-bandit forces, which were watching them with hostile intent, Li Xuan merely gave a derisive chuckle and murmured to Kong Sheng, “Little thief, you never imagined that this commandery princess had reinforcements of her own, did you? Very well. This is now a matter between you and the Hongze water bandits, so I shall no longer involve myself. If you manage to survive this calamity, then regarding all the offenses you have committed against me and the grievances between us, I shall not press the matter further. We will consider everything settled.”

Li Xuan cast Kong Sheng a gleeful, malicious glance and continued with a smile, “You brought this upon yourself, little thief. Whom else can you blame?”

With that, Li Xuan threw back her head and laughed loudly. She spurred her horse toward her own men, parting ways with Kong Sheng and the others.

Kong Sheng remained calm and impassive. Li Xuan’s mockery and her willingness to kick him while he was down did not anger him. She harbored no small amount of resentment toward him, and the fact that she was merely standing aside instead of joining forces with the water bandits to attack them already counted as remarkable magnanimity. Women were creatures who remembered every grievance. Kong Sheng had never expected Li Xuan to repay enmity with kindness and help them weather this disaster.

On the other side, Nangong Wang and his more than one hundred subordinates watched the sudden arrival of the twenty-odd horsemen with wary eyes, and a trace of tension crept into their ranks. Though Zhang Zhao’s men wore neither official uniforms nor military armor, their disciplined formation and the cold gleam of their long sabers were enough to reveal that they came from no ordinary background.

Li Xuan looked down at Nangong Wang with contempt, raising her riding crop as she said calmly, “You there, bandit. This is a feud between you and Kong Sheng. My men will not take part. We shall simply stand aside and watch while you settle it among yourselves.”

Having said this, Li Xuan slowly led her cavalry back several dozen yards, leaving the entire open stretch of ground that was about to become a battlefield clear. She did not depart, but truly settled down to watch from the sidelines. Of course, whether she intended merely to watch or hoped to profit after the struggle between snipe and clam was another matter entirely.

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The corner of Nangong Wang’s mouth twitched, and his elegant expression changed slightly. He threw back his head and gave a long, piercing whistle.

The pageboy standing beside him immediately waved the triangular command flag in his hand. The water bandits’ formation shifted silently. Led by the purple-robed, heavily bearded giant, several dozen sturdy men swung around both flanks, then rapidly converged into a long, single-file formation. Raising their steel blades, they wheeled about and once more surrounded the four of Kong Sheng. The remaining half continued to hold their original formation, facing Li Xuan’s cavalry across more than a hundred yards, fully prepared for battle.

Nangong Wang stepped out from beneath the awning and mounted a tall horse red as flame. He urged it forward at a leisurely pace until man and beast stood beneath the hillside. Then he gave Kong Sheng a cold smile.

“If you hand over the culprit who murdered my brothers, this mountain recluse may show mercy and spare the rest of you. Otherwise, blades and swords know no mercy. Every one of you will die without a grave!”

The several dozen water bandits in blue roared as one, lifting their steel blades high into the air like a forest of metal. Beneath the bright sunlight, the blades reflected a merciless, frigid radiance. The purple-robed, heavily bearded giant released an even more violent killing intent. Carrying a bright silver spear, he vaulted onto his warhorse and assumed a battle-ready stance.

Nangong Wang was not exaggerating. At a single command from him, his men would become a torrent of steel, sweeping forward in a mad onslaught and overwhelming the four of Kong Sheng with irresistible force, cutting them down where they stood.

The disparity in strength was simply too great. A battle like this held virtually no suspense.

Nangong Wang’s words concealed several implications. In his view, if Kong Sheng handed over two of his subordinates as scapegoats, giving him something with which to answer his brothers, then the matter could be allowed to pass.

Though Nangong Wang’s forces were numerous and held an overwhelming advantage, he was cautious by nature. A new force had suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. Although its members claimed that they would remain uninvolved and merely observe from the sidelines, Nangong Wang did not trust Li Xuan. In truth, she had just been traveling alongside Kong Sheng and the others. She could not sever that connection simply by declaring herself uninvolved.

If these people had some ulterior scheme, the more than one hundred men under his command could not afford to be toyed with. Taking revenge for two low-ranking water bandits was, for the most part, a matter of preserving face. Yet for someone of Nangong Wang’s station, it was something he had to do, because it concerned the cohesion of his men. But asking him to risk his entire force was unrealistic.

Thus, Nangong Wang had used the pressure of his threat to propose a compromise. It was, at least, one possible solution. As long as Kong Sheng was willing to hand over two men to put on a show and calm the water bandits’ fury, Nangong Wang was prepared to let the matter end there.

Li Xuan’s subordinates numbered only a little over twenty, but anyone could see at a glance that they were elite government cavalry—brave, battle-hardened, and highly trained. If they took advantage of the clash between Nangong Wang and Kong Sheng to launch a surprise attack, even Nangong Wang, though unafraid of them, would suffer a heavy loss.

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For that reason, Nangong Wang still harbored a deep wariness toward Li Xuan’s twenty-odd horsemen. This was a crucial factor in his decision to adopt a deliberately conciliatory posture.

In Nangong Wang’s eyes, he had already shown the greatest sincerity possible and offered them a way out. As long as Kong Sheng was not a fool, he would naturally understand the deeper meaning behind his words.

Li Xuan’s heart stirred faintly. Her delicate willow brows lifted slightly, while an indescribable emotion spread through her chest. She did not know whether she ought to feel fortunate on Kong Sheng’s behalf—or utterly disappointed.

When the brothers Wu Xian and Wu Jie heard Nangong Wang’s words, their faces instantly turned ashen. Wu Xian in particular went deathly pale, his shoulders beginning to tremble. Neither brother was stupid. How could they fail to understand that if sacrifices had to be chosen, it would undoubtedly be the two of them? If Kong Sheng pushed them forward as scapegoats, their fate required no imagination.

Once they fell into the hands of these water bandits, there was no chance they would keep their lives. In an instant, Wu Xian and Wu Jie were overcome by despair, barely able to control themselves.

A flicker of light passed through Mu Changfeng’s eyes. He leaned toward Kong Sheng and whispered into his ear, “Young Master…”

Before Mu Changfeng could finish, Kong Sheng shook his head gravely and decisively.

“Brother Mu, say no more. If anyone is chiefly at fault, it should be me. Kong Sheng may not be some peerless hero, but I would never commit the vile act of sacrificing brothers and friends merely to preserve my own life.”

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