Chapter 38: Battle and Infighting

As soon as Wang Tong signaled, the caravan moved forward slowly, and Wang Tong stepped up to explain what had happened. The steward from the Ai family, sitting in the carriage, cast a cold glance at Li Yi. "You certainly have some nerve, daring to stop the Ai family’s convoy," he said icily.

Li Yi stared back, unmoved, ignoring him altogether. The steward’s face darkened with anger, but recalling the importance of the cargo, he only snorted and handed over a pouch of silver. Secretly, he vowed to find a way to punish this insolent patrol officer once he returned.

Taking the pouch from Wang Tong, Li Yi estimated it contained about five taels of silver. He waved his hand, signaling them to pass.

Wang Tong, while outwardly directing the convoy, kept a wary eye on the archers of the patrol bureau. The convoy passed through quickly, and Wang Tong had just breathed a sigh of relief when a sudden rumble shattered the calm.

He looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. Countless logs tumbled down the hillside, crashing into the convoy in an instant. Many guards and servants, unable to dodge in time, were struck down with broken bones and torn muscles. Cries for help and groans of agony filled the air.

"Bandits! Protect the cargo!" Wang Tong roared as warhorses neighed in the distance.

A mounted messenger yanked his reins, preparing to dash toward the Sui De county office for help. Just as the horse turned and was about to gallop off, a dark shadow shot out.

The horse let out a horrible scream, collapsing to the ground. A short spear had pierced the rider’s chest.

Shocked and furious, Wang Tong turned to see Li Yi, who had just thrown the spear, drawing his broad-bladed saber and charging forward.

His blade moved with lethal speed—Li Yi saw only a flash of cold steel, unable even to reach for his Tiger Tooth Spear. He dodged the slash with a tilt of his head, kicked Wang Tong back, and swiftly vaulted onto a mule cart, hooking the Tiger Tooth Spear into his grasp.

"Villain, prepare to die!" Wang Tong, enraged beyond reason, raised his saber and rushed at him.

Li Yi’s eyes were icy as he swung the Tiger Tooth Spear with both hands. The force of the blow struck Wang Tong’s blade, numbing his hand. Realizing the danger, Wang Tong tried to retreat, but it was too late—the spear thrust straight at him.

He managed only a partial dodge before pain exploded in his shoulder, the spear driving him to the ground.

"Captain!" Two guards, seeing Wang Tong fall, shouted and charged at Li Yi. But Li Yi, paying Wang Tong no further mind, deflected a slashing blade, leaped down from the cart, and faced an onrushing guard without hesitation. The spear flicked, its sharp tip piercing through the man.

Retracting the bloodied weapon, Li Yi shook the gore from the tip and fixed a cold gaze on the other attacker. The second guard felt a suffocating pressure that nearly overwhelmed him with fear, making him want to flee.

"Kill!" With a desperate roar, he forced down his terror and charged at Li Yi. Li Yi parried his blade and drove the spear clean through the man’s throat. Blood sprayed as the guard fell, eyes wide in a final glare.

Li Yi looked down at the corpse for a long moment, sighing faintly. Around him, seven or eight men lay dead or wounded by the rolling logs. Gao Laoshi had already led the able-bodied men to block the road, and Gao Jie had joined the fray from behind, intensifying the melee.

The remaining guards, caught between two forces, fought back furiously, but the encirclement was closing in.

Wang Tong retreated into the ranks, yelling for the surviving servants to set up two makeshift barricades with carts and logs, then directed the guards to launch a fierce assault to expand their space.

With the paired formation, Gao Laoshi’s group could hold their ground, but Gao Jie and the others steadily fell back. Li Yi, armored in iron, charged forward, the clanking echoing as he moved. In a flash, he reached the front lines and swung the Tiger Tooth Spear in a sweeping arc, sending several guards flying.

With each step, he twisted his waist, the spearhead darting out in flashes of cold light. The veteran guards of the martial world crumpled beneath the onslaught, screams of pain punctuating the chaos.

With Li Yi leading, Gao Jie and the others needed only to follow, working together to finish off the remaining guards. Soon, two or three more bodies lay in the dust. But when they looked up, Li Yi was already far ahead, a trail of corpses marking his path.

Wang Tong, clutching his wound, stared in shock and fury at Li Yi’s approach. In less than a quarter of an hour, most of his men had fallen to this one man.

Next to him, the Ai family steward, pale with panic, asked, "Head Wang, what do we do now? Think of something!"

Wang Tong gave a bleak laugh. "There’s only one way—break out!"

"Break out?" The steward stared at the blocked road. "How?"

"Gather the draft horses, have someone lie flat on their backs, and charge out. The rest follow. If we break out, we live; if not, we die."

As he uttered the word "die," Wang Tong clenched his jaw.

The steward shuddered. Was the situation truly so dire?

"No, we can’t lose this cargo. If it’s lost, I won’t survive even if I return," he protested, shaking his head furiously.

"If we don’t break out, we all die here!"

"That cargo is more important than lives? Do you know how vital it is?"

"Is cargo more important than human lives?"

The steward glared, shouting, "Lives? The Ai family’s silver is not for nothing! If this cargo is lost, my whole family will die. Your worthless lives mean nothing!"

Wang Tong, furious, barked at his men, "Ready the horses. We’re breaking out!"

The steward grabbed him in alarm. "Head Wang, you can’t go!"

Wang Tong shook him off in rage.

The steward shouted, "Guard the carts! They’re the Ai family’s property—no one takes them!"

Wang Tong turned back, eyes blazing, but the steward stood firm. Gritting his teeth, Wang Tong turned away and led his remaining guards against Li Yi, saber raised high.

With a wild slash, Wang Tong aimed for Li Yi’s neck, ignoring the Tiger Tooth Spear thrusting back at him—a move that suggested he meant to die together.

Li Yi’s eyes narrowed. He deflected the saber with an upward flick, the spearhead shooting out. Wang Tong’s palm split open, and rolling aside, he slashed at Li Yi’s leg.

Li Yi swept the spear’s butt, then kicked Wang Tong hard in the chest.

Several guards rushed to help. Wang Tong, coughing blood as he fell, saw Li Yi take down two more of his men and knew the battle was lost—staying meant certain death.

Was he really to die here for the Ai family’s cargo?

He looked back at the steward, barking orders and forcing the guards to fight desperately for the cargo, and made up his mind.

Jumping onto a cart with his saber, Wang Tong shouted to the nearest guard, "Release the horses! We’re breaking out!"

The steward grabbed him, cursing, "Scoundrel! No one leaves! If you run, the Ai family will slaughter your entire clan!"

Wang Tong roared back, "You want to die, don’t drag us with you! Out of my way!"

The steward yelled, "If you run, the Ai family and the Zhenyuan Escort Agency will hunt you down!"

"Better than dying here!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Wang Tong struck the steward down with a saber to the neck. Blood spurted, and the remaining servants scattered in panic.

Wang Tong gave Li Yi a final, venomous look, then led his men in a desperate charge to escape.

Gao Laoshi advanced with the paired formation, driving back and cutting down several of the attacking guards, while none of his own suffered harm. The young men, bloodied but unbowed, were quickly adapting to battle, to bloodshed, and to killing.

At that moment, several horses burst free from the chaos. The formation broke ranks, and Gao Laoshi, knowing they couldn’t hold, quickly ordered a retreat.

Wang Tong and his five men charged out and soon vanished into the distance.

With only the Ai family’s servants left, the young men and the Fourth Squad surrounded and, with Li Yi’s help, swiftly finished the fight.

...

"Squad Leader, I ordered the retreat. I failed to stop them. Punish me if you must," Gao Laoshi said earnestly at the foot of the hill.

Li Yi patted his shoulder. "It’s not your fault. Without heavy armor and equipment, you couldn’t hope to stop cavalry."

He turned to Gao Jie. "What are our casualties?"

Gao Jie replied gravely, "None of the young men were hurt, but the Fourth Squad has five wounded and one dead."

Li Yi paused, his expression darkening, and strode over.

On a patch of open ground, five wounded men were having their injuries dressed. One corpse lay quietly nearby—a young man just past twenty, a ghastly saber wound at his throat exposing the bone.

Gao Jie, visibly upset, kicked the dead man’s leg and cursed, "Damn it! I said keep the line, but you had to rush ahead! If you didn’t die, who would?"

He turned away, eyes glistening with tears.

The men of the Fourth Squad stood silently, their faces full of grief.

"What’s his name? Any family?" Li Yi asked.

Liu Dayong sighed, "Sun Laosan. He has an elderly mother and two young siblings. He joined us because he couldn’t feed them, so he took up this bloody trade."

Li Yi nodded. "Ask his mother what she wants. If she needs money, I’ll find twenty taels of silver for her. If she doesn’t want the money, she can move in with me. I’ll care for her and raise Sun Laosan’s siblings to adulthood."

At these words, everyone looked at Li Yi with mixed feelings—some puzzled, some moved. Sun Laosan had died without killing an enemy or earning merit; by custom, his belongings would be returned to his family, and that would suffice. Yet Li Yi was willing to offer twenty taels of silver.

All present were conflicted, staring in silence, lost in thought.

"No time to delay. Gao Jie, gather the remaining horses and haul the carts out. If there aren’t enough horses, use manpower—get people to push. We must leave quickly," Li Yi ordered.

Gao Jie nodded and called the Fourth Squad to action.

Li Yi glanced at the corpses of the convoy, a pang of pity in his heart. He did not regret killing them—their positions were opposed, a battle for survival. As long as they were the enemy, he would show no mercy.

"Gao Laoshi, lead the men and bury the bodies in the ravine. Don’t leave them to rot in the wild," he instructed.

Gao Laoshi agreed and set the young men to work. Soon, the bodies were buried, and the carts were hauled away.

Li Yi then had his men erase all traces of the battle, sweep away the tracks left by the carts, and take a roundabout route through several deserted valleys before finally returning to the Li family village.

By the time they made it back, it was deep into the night.

Without delay, Li Yi had Yun Niang and Wang Sanniang prepare three large pots of noodle stew with plenty of mutton, ensuring everyone ate their fill before sending them to rest.