Xue Qiming gazed toward the city walls. "Are they coming?"
Ye Beizhi raised his wine bowl, tapped it lightly against Xue Qiming’s, then drained it in one go. "It’s begun."
Ye Beizhi stood up and declared, "Let’s go."
Xue Qiming donned his bamboo hat once more and concurred. "Let’s go."
Below the city walls, Zhou Tong, the commander of Liangzhou Prefecture, had just finished a bowl of noodles. As he considered whether he should have another, loud shouts suddenly erupted from the walls.
"They’re attacking again!"
Zhou Tong was barely able to sip the soup before he tossed aside his chopsticks and ran outside.
Outside, chaos reigned. Zhou Tong raised his head to see figures running back and forth atop the walls. The sky had darkened, and the torches lit on the walls flickered like a dance of wild shadows.
"Archers to the walls!" Zhou Tong shouted, but his voice was quickly drowned out in the cacophony.
"Damn it," Zhou Tong cursed under his breath as he picked up his pace toward the walls. After a couple of steps, he noticed two figures strolling leisurely toward him. Their relaxed demeanor was incongruous with the frenzy around them.
Zhou Tong frowned, squinting in the dim light. Their outlines didn’t resemble soldiers. As he moved closer, he realized that they were the same two people he had seen earlier that afternoon.
"You two over there! Who are you?" Zhou Tong shouted, his brow furrowing. "Who let you in?"
Ye Beizhi glanced at the figure blocking his path without replying. Xue Qiming looked around before asking Ye Beizhi, "Is he talking to us?"
Zhou Tong, anxious about the coming siege, didn’t want to waste time on them. He waved them off and said, "Go back to wherever you came from! This is no place for you!"
Ye Beizhi ignored him and kept walking. Xue Qiming followed, muttering, "So rude... Who let us in? It’s not like anyone tried to stop us."
Zhou Tong was momentarily at a loss for words. It dawned on him that amidst the chaos, no one was paying attention to people on this side of the wall. It was no wonder no one stopped them when they slipped in.
"Hurry back!" Zhou Tong said, exasperated. "We’re at war, and you’re wandering around? Do you have a death wish?"
Xue Qiming grinned. "This old guy’s quite concerned about us."
Ye Beizhi paid no attention and walked past Zhou Tong, heading toward the walls.
Seeing this, Zhou Tong reached out to grab Ye Beizhi’s arm. "Stop right there!"
With a flick of his hand, Ye Beizhi pushed Zhou Tong’s hand away and continued forward.
Furious, Zhou Tong shouted, "Guards! Seize—"
"They’re attacking the walls!"
A loud shout from above interrupted Zhou Tong. All three turned to look at the walls.
They saw archers continuously firing down from the walls, followed by the sound of something whizzing through the air.
Zhou Tong’s face darkened. "What is that?!"
Countless iron grappling hooks attached to ropes flew up from below and hooked onto the walls one after another.
"Those are grappling hooks!" shouted a soldier, "They’re climbing up!"
Zhou Tong had no time to worry about Ye Beizhi and Xue Qiming. He sprinted toward the walls, shouting orders nonstop, "Boiling oil! Bring the oil cauldrons! Cut the grappling hooks! Hold the walls! Don’t let them climb up!"
Xue Qiming chuckled, poking Ye Beizhi’s shoulder. "What did you say earlier? That their cavalry wasn't good at sieges?"
Ye Beizhi rubbed the hilt of his blade, glanced at Xue Qiming, and then looked toward the walls. "It’s about time."
"Alright, let’s go." Xue Qiming nodded. Just as he finished speaking, Ye Beizhi’s figure blurred as he darted forward!
Zhou Tong was still shouting orders when he suddenly heard a rush of wind by his ear. A figure shot past him, heading straight for the walls!
"Who the hell!?" Zhou Tong turned with a scowl, realizing the blur was none other than the person from before. "Guards! Seize—"
His words were cut short as a hand clamped over his mouth. Behind him, Xue Qiming whispered softly, "Shh... Relax, commander. We’re here to help. Don’t make a fuss, alright?"
Zhou Tong, a veteran soldier with formidable skills, instinctively elbowed backward the moment his mouth was covered. He struck only air as he tried to break free.
When he turned around, the man with the gourd at his waist was already walking toward the wall, a faint voice drifting back. "Tell your men to be careful... Don’t accidentally shoot me later."
Ye Beizhi was now standing at the edge of the wall, peering down. He saw several Northern Qiang soldiers scaling the wall using the ropes fastened to their grappling hooks.
Not far from the base of the wall, cavalry armed with crossbows were firing at the defenders, providing cover for the soldiers who were scaling the wall. Between each crossbow wielder, another soldier holding a shield stood ready, protecting their comrades from return fire.
"Trying to take the city with twenty-thousand," Ye Beizhi muttered, "Overconfident."
With a flash of his blade, Ye Beizhi severed several grappling hooks, sending several Northern Qiang soldiers plummeting back down.
Xue Qiming arrived at Ye Beizhi’s side, glancing down before shouting, "There's so many of them! How long are we supposed to keep killing them for?"
Ye Beizhi glanced at him. "Scared?"
Xue Qiming grinned. "No, I just meant... Those Northern Qiang guys are more enthusiastic than I expected."
Ye Beizhi casually deflected an incoming arrow with his blade, licked his lips, and pointed down.
Xue Qiming squinted. He spotted a figure dressed distinctly from the others, sitting astride a horse at the rear of the cavalry formation. Xue Qiming smirked in realization. "Oh... so that’s their leader..."
Zhou Tong stormed up, eyes wide with anger. Before reaching them he shouted, "Hey! You two, who are you?!"
Ye Beizhi gave him a cursory glance before ignoring the angry commander, leaping onto the parapet. Xue Qiming chuckled and followed suit.
"Get down from there!" Zhou Tong’s expression changed drastically as he rushed to pull them back.
Arrows whizzed past the pair, brushing close. Xue Qiming glanced at the densely packed crowd below, then at Ye Beizhi. "Hey, there are a lot of them. You should survive, right?"
Ye Beizhi lowered his eyes, as a sharp glint briefly flashed across them. "War... is an old friend."
"Get down!" Zhou Tong hollered as he lunged at them, his fingertips just grazing the hem of Ye Beizhi’s robe.
The two confident men leapt from the city walls!