Chapter 131: Sudden Rain (Part I)

The sky gradually darkened, and another day in Mayi Commandery slipped away.

A procession wound its way northward through the night; it was the party from Xu Family Village. Xu Le, having already shed his armor, rode at the front. The entire journey was marked by silence. This was the second time Xu Le had traveled this road.

A mere fortnight ago, when Xu Le first left Shenwu, he had been filled with grand illusions about the outside world. He was brimming with confidence and eagerness, itching to display his prowess to the world. To him, the entire universe felt fresh and full of infinite possibilities.

Yet, as he traversed this path for the second time, his frame of mind was vastly different.

He now carried the heavy, blood-stained burden of responsibility. The outside world was no longer bathed in sunshine; it had bared its fangs at him, and the road ahead was shrouded in uncertainty. In the shadows of the night, the once gentle and scholarly face of the young man had grown stern and profound, no longer the same as it had been.

The villagers of Xu Family Village also traveled in silence. No one uttered a sound. In the span of a single day, these villagers had changed as well. Many had donned armor stripped from the defeated Mayi cavalry, swapped their gear for the standard-issue weapons of the Mayi Yingyang Garrison, and rode on the tall horses of the military. They moved quietly, each of them carrying the faint, metallic scent of blood.

Suddenly, the formation stirred slightly. Not far ahead, flickering firelight illuminated the night sky. Xu Le, riding in the lead, pulled his horse to a halt and furrowed his brow.

Before he could call out, the brothers Han Yue and Han Xiaoliu caught up from behind. Xu Le asked in a low voice, "Where is that fire?"

Without waiting for his brother, Han Xiaoliu spoke first: "It’s Niumen Village! We’ve been there before. It’s a village along the main road to Yunzhong, much livelier than our Xu Family Village!"

Xu Le nodded silently. Han Yue watched his expression and said nothing. Even a simple, honest man like Han Yue understood what this fire signified.

The Mayi cavalry had been crushed and sent fleeing in disarray. Defeated soldiers were always the most vicious of creatures; they would ravage a region, leaving it desolate, and it would take a long time before they could be rounded up and order restored. Some simply devolved into roaming bandits.

The flames rising in the village in the dead of night were undoubtedly the handiwork of these broken soldiers!

In ordinary times, Han Yue would have urged Xu Le to intervene—to clear out these defeated wretches and restore peace to the local community. But now, he could not bring himself to say the words. Who knew when Wang Rengong’s retaliation would arrive? Delaying here might well mean the destruction of their entire party!

Even Han Xiaoliu, who was ten times more impulsive than his older brother, understood this logic. He rolled his eyes, wanting to speak but forcing himself to remain silent. Frustrated, he tugged at his reins, causing his steed to let out low, restless whinnies.

The dozens of villagers also saw the fire in the distance. They all stopped, and low murmurs began to ripple through the ranks.

Xu Le fell silent for a moment before a cold smile played on his lips. He pointed toward the rising flames. "Let's go. We will deal with these fellows first."

Han Yue was startled. "Young Master Le, but what of our journey north..."

Xu Le smiled. "Liu Wuzhou will always be there, and Yunzhong City isn't going anywhere. What does a day or two matter? This is the land of Shenwu, our home. How can I watch our own people be ravaged by Wang Rengong’s men?"

Han Yue remained hesitant. "But if Wang Rengong flies into a rage..."

Xu Le’s smile grew colder. "I only fear he won't be angry enough! It would be best if he attacked Yunzhong immediately! Best if he crawled out of that turtle shell of Shanyang City and stood right before me!"

Han Yue said nothing, sensing faintly that the kind and amiable Young Master Le of the past had changed.

Xu Le turned, whistled to his men, and pointed toward the fire. He pulled the reins, and his horse, Tunlong, let out a joyous neigh before stepping forward.

Han Yue still hesitated, but Han Xiaoliu was already cheering excitedly, "Young Master Le is taking us to clean up those bastards! Everyone, let’s go!"

The villagers cheered loudly, spurring their horses to follow into the night. After surviving a brutal battle and achieving an unexpected victory, the courage and bloodlust of these men—trained by Xu Gan—had been ignited. They possessed a confidence that bordered on the extraordinary. These were but the defeated remnants of the Mayi cavalry; wiping them out to protect their homeland was the best farewell they could offer their native soil before heading north.

Dozens of riders swept through the night. Han Yue shook his head, spurred his horse to follow, and rode closely to protect Xu Le.

...

Inside Niumen Village, it was a scene of hell.

That afternoon, twenty-odd Mayi cavalrymen had swept into the village, forcing Chen Fengpo and his men along with them. At first, they only demanded food and drink, resorting to beatings at the slightest provocation.

Once night fell and the alcohol took hold, the full cruelty of these defeated soldiers was unleashed. They began to seize the village women. When the villagers resisted, the cavalrymen drew their blades.

In the ensuing chaos, blood was spilled. Once blood was drawn, the situation spiraled out of control. The soldiers began to slaughter the villagers and set fire to their homes. In an instant, a once-peaceful village was transformed into a hellscape. Villagers wailed and fled in all directions, while the drunken soldiers rampaged, hacking at anyone they saw and dragging women away by their hair.

A ring of houses had been set ablaze, the flames leaping high into the sky. Many of the cavalrymen were even tossing wounded villagers directly into the fire!

Some villagers tried to escape over the village walls into the night, but the soldiers stood atop the walls, drawing their bows and shooting them down one by one, erupting into wolf-like howls of laughter.

For the past several hundred years, the Central Plains had been plagued by such brutal chaos. The Great Sui had unified the land, but only for a few decades of peace; now, the chaos was beginning anew. The actions of the Mayi cavalry were merely a prelude.

Chen Fengpo and a few others were guarding the house of his brother-in-law, blocking the door with various weapons. Although they had resisted fiercely when the chaos began, these local Yingyang soldiers had not seen battle in over a decade; their skills and courage were no match for these wolf-like cavalrymen.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Fengpo had lost several men. The survivors had retreated to this house, and no one knew how much longer they could hold out.

The leader of the defeated soldiers, along with seven or eight men, blocked the doorway, teasingly drawing their bows and firing arrows into the house one by one. They found this game too entertaining to end so soon.

Chen Fengpo stood behind the door, drenched in cold sweat. The dilapidated door was braced by a few heavy stones. Every time an arrow struck the door, it shuddered violently. Chen Fengpo was a man of the world, precise and capable in all affairs, but when faced with these military thugs, he was utterly helpless.

The leader’s laughter rang out from outside: "Chen the First, why not join us? You know where all the wealth is in this area. Help us open the gates, and you’ll have your share! Whether we go to Shanyang or find our own way, there will always be a place for you!"

His men and his brother-in-law looked at Chen Fengpo with trepidation. Chen Fengpo gave a bitter smile. "If I were to turn on my own people like this, how could I ever face my ancestors?"

The leader outside grew impatient after a few more shouts. "Chen the First, if you don't come out, I'm going to set this place on fire!"

Chen Fengpo gritted his teeth and roared back: "You are causing a mutiny! Governor Wang will not let you get away with this!"

The leader laughed wildly: "Wang Rengong is counting on us to conquer the world for him. As long as we are willing to die for him, what does a village matter?"

As the wails of the villagers drifted in from outside, Chen Fengpo’s eyes turned red. He shouted, "Shenwu will have its revenge! We fought at the foot of the mountain, and my only regret is that Xu Family Village didn't slaughter every last one of you!"

Even men of the borderlands, long worn down by the dust of the world and forced to be worldly and slick, still possessed a hidden spark of spirit in their final moments!

The leader fell silent for a moment before erupting in a rage. "You stubborn, dog-bitch spawn! Burn it! Burn it all!"

Bundles of firewood were tossed forward, many delivered by captured villagers weeping in terror. Then, a rain of fire arrows descended. As the smoke and flames rose, Chen Fengpo closed his eyes in agony.

He knew that his fate and the fate of Niumen Village meant nothing to Wang Rengong. In the eyes of such aristocratic families, their lives were as worthless as blades of grass.

At this moment, there was nothing left to do but close his eyes and await death. Who could possibly come to their aid?