Nine days had passed since the Northern Qiang scouts had been first spotted.
Qi Anjiang stood on the low wall of North Watching Pass, gazing into the distance. He could see a dark presence amassing across the landscape, vast and seemingly endless.
The Northern Qiang army had camped ten miles away.
At this distance, it would only take a few strikes of the whip for the Northern Qiang cavalry to reach them.
"Captain Qi..." A soldier next to Qi Anjiang stammered, his voice trembling. He looked at Qi Anjiang with a mix of fear and hope, as if seeking reassurance from him.
Qi Anjiang looked down at the young soldier. He was barely more than a boy with a faint trace of peach fuzz on his upper lip.
After a moment, Qi Anjiang hoarsely reassured him, "The court’s army will come."
Qi Anjiang turned to look south, where the vast, empty desert stretched endlessly, devoid of any sign of life.
He had already sent a second messenger to Liangzhou Prefecture, but, like the first, there had been no response. The second messenger hadn’t returned either.
Qi Anjiang clenched his fists, considering all the possibilities. Perhaps the messenger had been ambushed by bandits, intercepted by Northern Qiang scouts, or was even betrayed by a spy among Liangzhou’s officials!
There were too many possibilities.
Qi Anjiang had even considered delivering the message himself, but he couldn’t leave. North Watching Pass, more a town than a city, had no governor, no formal government. The militia he led was the only thing that lent a semblance of order to the city.
This was North Watching Pass’s only military force. As the commander, Qi Anjiang was in charge here. Leaving now would be like ripping out the backbone of the North Watching Pass.
Even now, he continued to reassure those around him... the court’s army would come.
Sometimes, Qi Anjiang wondered whether he was telling the truth or a lie. The people of North Watching Pass were hardly fools... Did they not understand? Perhaps they just needed to hear him say it to keep the flame of hope alive. Yet Qi Anjiang knew he was fooling himself as much as them.
And even if the court’s army did come... would it make a difference? Qi Anjiang looked at the dark horde in the distance. Had Northern Qiang deployed everything they had here?
The aroma of food wafted up from within the city, and Qi Anjiang took a breath, savoring it. Turning to look northward, he saw hundreds, even thousands, of smoke trails rising from the black mass, reaching up toward the sky.
The Northern Qiang army was only ten miles away. It was impossible to hide that from his people.
Fang Dingwu knew that as well.
There was still no trace of the court’s troops. How could the North Watching Pass, with walls barely three men high, defend itself? Fang Dingwu thought he must be mad to even consider such an idea.
It was time to make a decision.
Fang Dingwu felt he had finally made up his mind. He stepped outside and opened the door to Brother Xing’s house next door, only to find Brother Xing and his wife sitting at the table, having their meal.
When Fang Dingwu entered, Brother Xing quickly invited him in. "Oh, Dafang? Come, come, join us for a bite. I’ll go grab some wine."
Fang Dingwu started, exclaiming, "You still have the appetite to eat?!"
Brother Xing froze, and his wife put down her chopsticks. They both looked at Fang Dingwu in silence.
Eventually, Brother Xing chuckled. "If we don’t eat... what else is there to do?"
"Run!" Fang Dingwu growled, glaring at Brother Xing. "Do you really have to wait here to die?!"
Brother Xing shook his head with a smile.
"The court’s army will soon—"
Fang Dingwu stormed over and grabbed Brother Xing by the collar.
"There is no court army! They’re not coming! Not for you, no, not for anyone in the North Watching Pass!
"How long will you keep lying to yourselves?!"
Brother Xing’s wife accidentally dropped a bowl, shattering it on the ground.
"I-I’m sorry..." She quickly knelt down to pick up the pieces.
Watching her crouched figure, Fang Dingwu’s tone softened, and he let go of Brother Xing’s collar.
"Brother Xing, take your wife and flee with me... We can’t stay here."
Brother Xing smiled gently, walking over to help his wife up. He turned to Fang Dingwu and said softly, "Dafang, you go. We... aren’t leaving."
His wife buried her head in Brother Xing’s shoulder, softly sobbing.
Fang Dingwu closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Tell me why."
Brother Xing lowered his gaze, a trace of sadness in his eyes, but he wore a faint smile. "Because... our home is here. Even if we leave, we have nowhere to go."
Fang Dingwu stood there for a long time, unmoving. Brother Xing’s family also remained silent, with only his wife’s occasional sobs breaking the stillness.
"I understand." After a long silence, Fang Dingwu finally spoke. He turned, opened the door, and, facing away from Brother Xing, said, "I still want to live, Brother Xing... Take care of yourselves." With that, he walked away without looking back.
Back in his own home, Fang Dingwu leaned against the door in a daze, lost in thought. If he hadn’t gone searching for Brother Ye and Little Sister Chi, if he had stayed at the escort agency, would he have chosen to fight to the death there rather than fleeing?
Fang Dingwu sighed. Perhaps Brother Xing and his family felt the same way.
But I can’t die yet! Fang Dingwu clenched his teeth. Brother Ye and Little Sister Chi’s fates were still unknown, and someone had to take revenge for the escort agency. He couldn’t die here.
Determined, Fang Dingwu quickly took out his clothes and other essentials from his cupboard, gathering everything into a large cloth bundle, preparing once more to flee for his life.
Suddenly, a rumbling shook the ground, as though something terrifying was rapidly approaching.
Fang Dingwu stopped, holding his breath and listening intently to the sounds outside.
There was a brief moment of silence, then a piercing scream echoed from afar!
"Northern Qiang... is coming!"
Across the vast desert, a tidal wave of cavalry charged toward North Watching Pass with unstoppable force. Leading them was Wang Yuepi who stood out from the rest of the soldiers by riding not a horse, but a massive black bear.
Wang Yuepi let out a roar, as the dilapidated city gate loomed closer and closer, urging his ursine mount to even greater speed!
The city gate shattered like paper under Wang Yuepi’s massive frame, exploding into a storm of splintered wood.
Wang Yuepi smashed a guard’s skull with one swing of his iron club, then raised it high and bellowed loudly!
"By my command! Slaughter everyone!"