Main Story, Chapter Ninety-Three: Contest of Strength (Twenty-Seven)

Liu Wuzhou stood high upon the city wall, his gaze deep and unreadable as he looked toward Xu Le.

“Le Langjun,” he said, “if there is anything you want, say it without hesitation. So long as Heng'an has it, I will give it to you. If you would accept service with the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command, I can secure you an official post under the Great Sui.”

This promise was no small thing.

Though Liu Wuzhou was still being pressed by Wang Rengong, the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command was a mighty frontier stronghold. Its power was so great that, compared with Xu Le, a mere village-born youth, the two were worlds apart.

With a single word, Xu Le could be given a post in the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command at once and become an official. To those from the countryside, it would be like meeting a cloud and turning into a dragon.

Even if he refused an official rank and merely asked Heng'an for some wealth, the hardship of this journey would already be worthwhile. Xu Le had come all this way by trade, enduring untold difficulty and countless mishaps. Was it not all for the sake of wealth?

Every eye was fixed on Xu Le's face, waiting for his answer. Many of the Heng'an soldiers were visibly excited. Xu Le's abilities were plain to see. If he could join the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command, then the city of Yunzhong would gain yet another peerless warrior.

The rain poured down in sheets, water running endlessly over Xu Le's face.

Wiping the rain away, Xu Le gave an awkward smile. “Commander Liu, where are my brothers?”

Liu Wuzhou glanced at the personal guards beside him. One of them quietly stepped back, went down from the tower by another route, and hurried off to order the prisoners released. No doubt he would also have to see to proper hospitality, perhaps even a late-night meal to calm their nerves.

Turning back to Xu Le, Liu Wuzhou said with sincere warmth, “There was a misunderstanding just now, so your men were detained for the moment. Naturally, they are now being treated as honored guests. Now then, Le Langjun, what else do you want?”

This was pressing the issue step by step, the intention to recruit him unmistakably fervent. Even Yuan Junzhang, who liked Xu Le the least, remained silent.

Xu Le's capture of Zhang Wansui had indeed done Heng'an a tremendous favor. And the earlier flirtations between him and the Turkic Zhibi tribe had now become a laughingstock. That slap had landed hard indeed. With Liu Wuzhou suddenly trying to recruit Xu Le, Yuan Junzhang could only keep his objections to himself.

Xu Le's smile became even more awkward. It was his first time facing a powerful man's invitation, and there had to be some process of adjustment. But from beginning to end, he had never intended to join the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command.

Aside from his grandfather's warning that Liu Wuzhou was a man of predatory ambition and should never be followed, the newly risen young Xu Le, dazzling in the borderlands, had his heart set on Chang'an and Luoyang.

Perhaps only there could he find the reason his father had died, perhaps only there could he find his enemy, and perhaps only there could he answer to his grandfather.

Once the affairs of Yunzhong were settled, it would be time to go home. After this trial, he would take his grandfather with him to Chang'an and Luoyang, and let the whole Central Plains know his name.

Xu Le bowed deeply to Liu Wuzhou. “I am grateful to Commander Liu for your regard. It is only that my grandfather is still at home, old and frail. I must first fulfill my filial duty before speaking of anything else.”

Liu Wuzhou's expression instantly darkened, but then he laughed heartily. “Am I Liu Wuzhou the sort of man who does not reward merit? If I were not, how could I lead the four thousand sons of Heng'an?”

Xu Le smiled and straightened. “Then this junior has the audacity to ask Commander Liu to send troops to aid Clan Leader Luodun in recovering the Lianghet tribe and seizing the usurper Lielie.”

Luodun, standing nearby, froze for a moment, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end held his tongue. He stood in the rain, his face full of gloom.

After standing on the grasslands for decades, to still need a young man in his old age to save him, and to have to rely on that young man's hand to restore his rule over the tribe, how could he bear it?

Old Xu truly had raised a fine grandson.

Thunder crashed overhead. Liu Wuzhou stood firm, waving his hand forcefully in the rain, sending a spray of water outward.

“Yuan, ready the troops. Send one part of them to help Clan Leader Luodun retake the Lianghet tribe; from now on, obey only Clan Leader Luodun's orders. As for the rest, pursue the Thousand-Yue tribe and the Turkic raiders. Do not return to see me until you have captured Wutou Heiguo and his son of the Thousand-Yue tribe, together with the Turkic mastermind who slipped into Yunzhong!”

Yuan Junzhang clasped his fists solemnly. “I will obey the commander’s orders!”

In the pouring rain, a troop gathered hastily at the city gate. Their commander wore full armor and held a long spear, standing motionless in the downpour as he waited with his horse for orders.

This detachment had been assigned by Yuan Junzhang to follow Luodun's command and retake the Lianghet tribe.

Through the rain curtain came three riders. They were Luodun, Xu Le, and Buli.

From his horse, Luodun said to Xu Le, “With a troop like this following me, how could I fail to take back the Lianghet tribe? That brat Lielie is nothing but a coward, I can tell. He may already have vanished without a trace. Ah Le, you should go rest first.”

Xu Le smiled. “If you've already finished ninety-nine bows, then there is no need to skimp on the last one. If anything were to happen to you, Grandfather would beat me to death.”

Luodun gave a wry smile. “We are old now. In the future, the world will belong to you youngsters, especially to you, Ah Le.”

Luodun praised him, and Xu Le merely lowered his head with a modest smile. Buli blinked her large eyes, glancing back and forth between them, not fully understanding the exchange.

The leading officer hurried forward, gave Luodun a slight nod, then pressed a fist to his chest and saluted Xu Le. “Mo Liu, squad leader of the Hengshan detachment of the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command, reporting to obey the orders of Langjun Le!”

Before Xu Le could return the salute, Mo Liu's face broke into a broad grin. “I heard that Langjun Le captured Zhang Wansui, the general who colluded with the Turks and served Wang Rengong. Everyone in Heng'an is deeply grateful for your great kindness! I, Mo Liu, am a rough fellow and have nothing to offer in return, but this time I will follow Langjun Le's orders. If Langjun Le says east, we will never go west!”

Xu Le smiled and pointed into the distance. “Then come with me and take the Lianghet tribe back!”

In the rain, Zhibi Sili and Zhibi Luoluo, under the protection of the Green Wolf Cavalry, fled desperately toward the mountains.

The warriors of the Thousand-Yue tribe were broken at the first clash by the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command. Now they were scattering through the storm, and those who could not escape simply dismounted and surrendered.

Between flashes of lightning, the mounted heavy cavalry of Heng'an stood revealed across the wilderness, their masks ferocious as those of death gods.

As Ashian Shad of the Turkic Zhibi tribe, Zhibi Luoluo had never feared the Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command. Whenever they met on the battlefield, it was often a slaughter that piled corpses into hills and spilled blood into rivers.

But today, after his collusion with Wang Rengong had been exposed, even though he had previously exchanged envoys with Yuan Junzhang, who could know whether the cornered Heng'an Eagle-Soaring Command would now strike for the kill?

To have fallen into such a plight was, in truth, all because of arrogance. The Thousand-Yue tribe had sold its allegiance, and Wang Rengong and Liu Wuzhou had competed to win it over. Emboldened by this, Zhibi Luoluo had grown reckless, and while subduing the Nine-Surnamed tribes, he had even received the envoys sent by Wang Rengong.

Then Xu Le appeared and shattered their once-brilliant situation in an instant, forcing them to flee through the rainy night for their lives.

As long as they reached the mountains, they would be safe. As long as they could return to the steppe, they would certainly avenge today's humiliation, and they would make sure Xu Le's entire household, high and low alike, was slaughtered without mercy.