Chapter 79: Upon Beizi Hill; Crown Prince Falls into the Devil’s Nest
Xie Lian's sudden leap into the air was certainly alarming, but his two attendants were more than clear just what he was capable of, and so Mu Qing didn't move, but Feng Xin still went over and helped pull him up. Xie Lian only used a little bit of strength to pull and that young soldier was hauled up, the two of them landing feet flat back onto the tower wall.
"Which troop did you come from? Why are you hiding here?" Xie Lian asked.
That young soldier's arms and head were wrapped full of bandages, and there was even spots of blood on them, appearing to be covered in wounds. It wasn't anything strange; after the battle today there were many wounded soldiers who were all wrapped up like this. However, that he would hide in the shadows without making a sound was highly suspicious.
"He might be a Yong'an spy, tie him up and interrogate him." Mu Qing said.
Xie Lian suspected it too, but the royal capital was rigorously guarded and the chance of enemies sneaking in was low, unless it was Lang Ying himself. However, this young soldier was clearly only a child barely legal.
Feng Xin, however, was puzzled, "Your Highness, you don't remember this brat? During the day today he kept charging to fight in front of you, in that formation that was ahead."
Xie Lian was slightly taken aback, "Oh, really?"
In the midst of killing during the day, he had no time to notice anything else, only that if someone raised a sword to fight him, he'd swing to strike back. He didn't even bother with Feng Xin and Mu Qing, so how would he notice any other soldiers?
Feng Xin was sure, "It is. I remember this brat. His charge was quite aggressive, like he doesn't care for his life at all."
Hearing him, Xie Lian looked over the young soldier carefully. For some reason that boy stood taller, his shoulders squared and head raised, as if a little stiff, but also like he was standing at attention. Mu Qing remarked, "Then he shouldn't be sneaking around hiding here, who knows if he's here to spy or listen in?"
Even if that's what he said, he still relaxed his guard. This was because due to the campaign by the Xian Le military promoting 'Army of God, Holy Crusade', there were quite a number of young people who enlisted to follow after Xie Lian, many equally as young, and most were loyal worshippers, having grown up worshipping his divine statues, listening to his tales of valor, and they wanted to get close secretly if only to steal a glimpse of the martial god. It wasn't the first or second time this had happened, so it wasn't anything special.
"Alright, it was a false alarm." Xie Lian said. Then he turned to that young soldier and said warmly, "I must've scared you just now. Sorry."
Yet that boy didn't look frightened and only stood straighter. "Your Highness..."
However, he trailed off and suddenly moved to tackle Xie Lian!
Xie Lian thought he wanted to ambush him and sidestepped immediately to dodge, his hand reaching for his sword to strike. With his might, just one strike and that boy would undoubtedly die on the spot. But just then, he suddenly felt a rush of cold air behind him. His hand changed track abruptly and flipped to catch, and caught a sniping arrow that was aimed for his back.
Turns out that boy ran to tackle him because he saw a flicker of that arrow flying through the air. Xie Lian's back was leaned against the edge of the parapet, and having been attacked from behind, he wasn't scared in the slightest, and instead jumped onto the wall to look downwards.
In the vast fields before the city gates he could see faintly the lone figure of a man standing in the far distance, and because that man wore dark coloured clothing and blended into one with the night, he was difficult to see. Feng Xin was instantly by Xie Lian's side, drew his bow and shot. However, it seemed that man had already calculated the distance and stood just out of reach. That one arrow he shot got Xie Lian's attention, so he waved, then turned swiftly to leave without a word. When Feng Xin's arrow reached him it was already too late, and it only nailed behind that man's retreating feet by inches.
Furious, Feng Xin knocked at the wall, and rubble came tumbling down. "WHO WAS THAT?!"
Who else could it be? "Lang Ying!" Xie Lian shouted.
The Xian Le soldiers also noticed something off, and started yelling, running around, but for the sake of caution, they didn't immediately open the gates to give chase, and instead reported to the superiors for instructions. Lang Ying waved and left after shooting that one arrow, as if he came especially to greet Xie Lian. Mu Qing furrowed his brows, "Why did he come? Was that a declaration?"
Feng Xin said angrily, "On the battlefront today Yong'an was completely defeated, and he himself barely escaped from His Highness' hands, so what can he possibly declare?"
Xie Lian, however, felt that the arrow in his hand had something else tied around it, and when he brought it to the firelight to see, it was a ripped piece of fabric that seemed to come from a verdant brocade robe. There was even traces of wet blood on the fabric, and when he unfolded it, there was a scribble of the word 'Qi'.
Xie Lian immediately clutched that fabric and said, "Where's Qi Rong? Is Qi Rong not in the palace?!"
Feng Xin turned to the nearby soldiers, "Go quickly to the palace and confirm!"
The soldiers immediately left. That fabric was indeed a sleeve corner of Qi Rong's favourite robe, and Lang Ying was known for his stealth, so there was a high probability of Qi Rong having been kidnapped. Things couldn't be delayed, Xie Lian said, "I'm going after him to see." Seeing that Feng Xin came back, he added, "You two watch over the city gates but don't make any moves. This might be a feint."
Feng Xin shrugged his bow on his back, "You're not bringing anyone?"
If there wasn't any major attacks from Yong'an's side, Xie Lian didn't want Xian Le to deploy soldiers first. If Qi Rong had fallen into enemy hands, then Xie Lian himself could bring him back, but if he brought a troop with him, it would cause a stir, and it wouldn't just be only one or two dead. At the moment, Xie Lian wanted to minimize any issues. "No. They can't do anything to me."
Then, he pushed off the wall lightly and leapt over, landing down on the ground softly, and dashed rapidly in the direction where Lang Ying retreated. After running for a while, he heard footsteps behind catching up to him, and when he turned his head to look, it was that young soldier. Xie Lian shouted at him, "I don't need help, go back!"
That boy shook his head. Xie Lian tried again, "Go back!" And he sped up, leaving that boy far behind in an instant, no longer to be seen.
After running for five, six miles, he reached a mountaintop. This mountain wasn't steep, and was more like a hill, so it was called the Beizi* Hill. According to scouts, Beizi Hill was covered in foliage, and in the deep night, there were strange noises all around inside the dark forest, as if there were countless creatures lying low, watching. Xie Lian went deeper into the mountain and searched with his breath held for a long while until suddenly, he saw far ahead the shape of a long human form hung off a tree. He looked closely and cried, "Qi Rong!"
It was indeed Qi Rong. He was hung upside down off a tree, looking like he was beaten to a pulp and fainted, his nose bleeding downwards, and one of his eye was blackened. Xie Lian unsheathed his sword and cut that rope, catching the fallen Qi Rong and slapped at his face. Qi Rong slowly came to, and yelled the moment he recognized him, "Cousin Crown Prince!"
Xie Lian was just loosening his bind when he felt cold behind his back and immediately swung his sword back. He turned his head and it was Lang Ying, with a longsword in hand, lunging at him.
The two of them parried a few times, and it didn't take long before Xie Lian knocked Lang Ying's sword flying. Then Xie Lian kicked his legs, tripping him, and brought his sword to his throat, ending the fight. "You know you're not my equal, stop fighting."
They faced off earlier that day on the battlefield, and whoever charged at Xie Lian were all killed, except Lang Ying, who still survived after taking on Xie Lian's sword face on, and dragged himself away wounded. Anyone could see that Lang Ying was the leader of those Yong'an refugees, and Xie Lian telling him to "stop fighting" naturally had a deeper meaning.
"As long as you people don't transgress, I promise the soldiers of the royal capital will not attack you. Take the water and the rations. Leave."
Lang Ying laid on the ground, and stared him straight in the eyes, that gaze making him uncomfortable. He spoke up, "Your Highness, do you think what you're doing is right?"
Xie Lian froze. Next to him, Qi Rong cussed, "Rubbish! Do you know who cousin Crown Prince is? He's a god of heaven! If he's not right, what, you think you treacherous dogs are in the right?!"
"Qi Rong, quiet!" Xie Lian shouted.
The question Lang Ying posed, he couldn't answer. Deep down, he did feel there's something not right with what he's done. But, this was the best course of action he could think of. If he didn't protect Xian Le, defend against transgression, could he really allow the Yong'an rebels to freely raid again and again, even invade the royal capital?
If only one or two swung their swords at him, he could touch lightly and knock them out to end things. But on the battlefield, blades were merciless, and there was no way he could have the energy to simply knock everyone out. He could only stop himself from feeling and swing the sword. Lang Ying's question had woken that voice deep within, asking him: Do you think what you're doing is right?
Qi Rong didn't have this dilemma and kept talking, "What did I say wrong? Cousin, since you're here, hurry and kill all of them dogged thieves! A bunch of them beat me up, and I was only one person!"
Qi Rong had been a figure of domineering arrogance within the royal capital, and naturally there were many from Yong'an who hated him, so they certainly took this chance to take revenge. Of course, more than many from Xian Le also hated him. Xie Lian had no time for him, and said to Lang Ying, "What do you want? If you want rain, Yong'an will rain. If you want gold, I'll push over the golden statues and give them to you. If you want food, I'll... think of a way. Just, don't start a war. Can't we solve this together and find a third path?"
Xie Lian blurted those words in spite of himself, and Lang Ying might not understand what the "third path" meant, but he answered without hesitation, "I don't want anything, and I don't need anything. The only thing I want is for the Kingdom of Xian Le to cease existing in this world. I need it to disappear."
His tone was flat, but his words were cold. A moment later, Xie Lian said gravely, "...if you bring forth people to attack, I will not be able to sit back and watch. You don't have any chance of winning. Must you do this even if those of Yong'an who follow you will die?"
"Yes." Lang Ying said.
"..."
His answer was so calm, so firm, that while Xie Lian's knuckles cracked, he couldn't say anything back. Lang Ying enunciated each word, "I know you're a god. That's ok. Even if you're a god you can't make me stop."
Xie Lian knew that what Lang Ying said is true. Simply because what was in his tone was more than familiar to him – it was the determination of one steeped in justice and righteousness. When he told Jun Wu "even if the heavens say I must die", the determination within was exactly the same as Lang Ying's at this very moment!
Lang Ying's words were no different than a proclamation that he would continue to call forth endless people of Yong'an to continue to attack unceasingly. Then, Xie Lian knew what he must do.
The sword in Xie Lian's hand was held with one hand, but now he gripped it with both his hands. Just as he was about to pierce Lang Ying's throat with his trembling hands, there was suddenly a weird scrunching sound behind him, and then a cackling laugh.
That someone could appear soundlessly and without notice, Xie Lian was startled, and when he looked back, his eyes widened.
Usually those who appear at a time like this were most likely to be enemy soldiers, and perhaps countless blades were already pointed at him, but he had not expect that behind him would be such a strange figure.
That person wore a deadly white funeral garb, his face bore a deadly white mask, and that mask was exceedingly bizarre, with half the face crying, the other half smiling. He was sitting on a vine hung low between two trees, and that scrunching sound came from him swinging that vine back and forth like a swing. When he saw Xie Lian look back, he raised his hands and slowly "pa", "pa" clapped, cackling coming from his lips, raising hair on Xie Lian's back.
"What are you?!" Xie Lian said sharply.
He used "what" because his instincts told him, that thing wasn't human!
Just then, Xie Lian suddenly noticed the feeling of the sword in his hands were wrong, and Qi Rong screamed at the same time, and when he turned back to look, the ground in front of him was split wide open into a deep ditch, and Lang Ying who was lying on the ground was being swallowed by that gap. The ground was rapidly closing the mouth, and without thinking, Xie Lian stabbed into the heart of the earth. Only when feeling that the tip of his sword only touched soil and didn't pierce any flesh, did Xie Lian realized he failed in killing Lang Ying, but he couldn't tell whether if he felt regret or relief. Just then, that white clothed being started cackling again, and Xie Lian raised his sword and flung it at him.
That strike was fast as lightning, penetrating through that being, nailing him onto the tree, and that being crumpled to the ground without uttering a single sound. Xie Lian rushed over to check but only saw a pile of white robes on the ground. The one wearing the robes had disappeared into mid air!
That being's appearance and disappearance were both incredibly peculiar. Xie Lian was in shock and didn't dare to drop his guard. Picking Qi Rong off the ground with one hand, he said, "Let's go."
Yet Qi Rong whined, "Let's not go! Cousin, let's set fire on this mountain, cousin! There's a bunch of those Yong'an peeps on this mountain, those boorish radicals who wouldn't leave the city gates are all hiding here, let's set a fire and torch this place clean!"
Xie Lian dragged him with one hand for some distance, feeling the essence of evil around them growing heavier, as if countless eyes were watching them. He said, "Did you not see how strange that being was just now? We shouldn't stick around."
"So what?" Qi Rong said, "You're a god! You're not afraid of those little ghosts? If they dare obstruct you then just kill them off!"
"Let's go back first." Xie Lian said.
Hearing that Xie Lian was paying him no mind and wouldn't set the mountain ablaze, Qi Rong's eyes bulged, "WHY? THOSE PEOPLE BEAT ME TO A PULP AND WANT TO ANTAGONIZE US. YOU HEARD HIM. HE SAID HE WANTS TO ANNIHILATE XIAN LE! HE WANTS TO ANNIHILATE OUR KINGDOM! WHY DON'T YOU KILL THEM ALL OFF LIKE YOU DID TODAY ON THE BATTLEFIELD?"
"..." Xie Lian inhaled and shouted angrily, "Why do you only have kill! kill! kill! In your head? Soldiers and civilians are different!"
Qi Rong countered, "What's the difference? Aren't they all people? Isn't killing either the same thing?"
It was like he stabbed Xie Lian where it hurt, and a burst of anger rolled up, "YOU–!"
Just then, he felt tightening around his ankle, and when he looked down, a swollen hand had poked out of the bushes and seized his boot!
At the same time, there were innumerous tumbling noises coming from ahead of them, and a number of human forms fell down from the trees like rain, paralyzed on the ground unable to get up. Although they're shaped like humans, they were limp like countless giant flesh worms, slowly squirming towards them. Qi Rong cried out in fright, "WHO ARE THEY?!"
Xie Lian chopped off that hand with his sword and said gravely, "They're not people, they're binu's (lowly slaves)!"
In the past, Xie Lian had never heard of their appearance in any of the mountains near the royal capital, and even if there were any kinds of ghosts or demons, they were usually quickly exterminated by the cultivators of the Huang Ji Pavilion. Which meant, these binu's were intentionally let loose by someone.
Xie Lian had never expected that this war would involve anything inhuman. Thinking back on what transpired, he believed more and more that those things were allied with Lang Ying, and that kidnapping Qi Rong was no more than to lure him out. Nonetheless, he had no time to think at the moment. Every time he swung his sword, he could cleanly slice seven to eight binu's in half, but when binu's appear, they usually come in flocks. Sure enough, all around them the bushes and trees started to rustle, shaking harder and harder, and more and more blurry fleshy forms crawled out, coming at Xie Lian unceasingly. He could kill ten with one strike, but twenty would charge. Just as Xie Lian was striking endlessly, a binu on a tree narrowed in on Xie Lian's back, and leapt down to grapple!
Unexpectedly, before it got close it was sliced up by a flash of a flare. Qi Rong didn't have any weapons on him so it couldn't have been him. Xie Lian turned to look and saw the one who swung a sword was that young soldier!
He was left in the dust by Xie Lian by the city gates, but he actually still followed along and found them. That boy was carrying a worn sword and struck down a number of binu's, highly effective. Those things crawled and emitted a thick, glue-like body fluid, and Qi Rong was crying at how disgusting they were. He stomped on the head of one that looked weak and noticed that creature wasn't exactly scary, and said dejectedly, "So they're not that impressive?"
Yet little did he know, binu's usually appear alongside more violent, cruel evils. Xie Lian bit his lips and broke skin, using two fingers of his right hand to dip at the blood, then smeared it on his blade. Then he stuffed the sword in Qi Rong's hands, "You two, take this sword and go! Nothing will dare approach. Don't turn back even if you hear anything. Remember, don't look back!"
Qi Rong protested, "Cousin! I..."
Xie Lian cut him off, "The powerful ones are right behind them. I won't be able to take care of you once they show up. It's better if you go back and report!"
Qi Rong stopped talking, and frantically ran away holding the sword. The sacred sword in his hands had the essence of Xie Lian's divinity, and all along the road no binu's or other evils dare come close, his path was unbound, and he disappeared quickly. Yet, that young soldier still didn't leave, and Qi Rong himself was already long gone. Xie Lian didn't have another sacred protection sword to give him, and could only use his palms to shoot out spiritual blows, blasting away. That boy was also vigorously cooperative, and after an hour, all the binu's were exterminated.
A ground full of sticky fluids and corpses, the stench was stifling. After making sure not a single binu escaped, Xie Lian calmed his breath and turned around, speaking to that boy, "You're pretty good with the sword."
That boy gripped his sword harder, and while he was huffing at first, he instantly stood at attention again. "Ye-yes sir."
"I'm not giving you orders, so why are you saying "yes sir"?" Xie Lian said, "When I ordered you to go back earlier, why didn't you say "yes sir" then?"
"Yes sir!" That boy answered, but then realized his response was strange, and stood even stiffer. Xie Lian shook his head, mulled, and suddenly his lips curled up, "But, you're better suited for a sabre."
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●Beizi means small back
●MXTX Author's Notes: Hua Hua is not yet fourteen right now, but because of puberty, he sprouted rapidly in height, and no longer looks like a sad puppy, which is why Xie Lian didn't recognize him!