The moment Zhang San said he was leaving, the dozen or so ragged men from before all crawled out of the earthen caverns, along with several peasant women, the family members of some of them. Every person wore a look of panic.
It turned out this earthen fortress truly was an abandoned fortress, built in some unknown dynasty. Aside from the rammed-earth walls and sentry platform, there were also many secret tunnels and caverns inside, like a vast ant nest. The fortress had long been abandoned, and most of the tunnels had collapsed, but a few caverns remained where people could hide. Drainage channels, smoke vents, kitchens, latrines—all the facilities were complete. Behind the fortress was a mountain spring, one could hunt in the forest, and there were even several patches of cleared land.
Before the Xiao Army besieged Kuiyuan, several northern cities had fallen, and some refugees had fled into the abandoned fortress. They were all poor tenant farmers bringing along the old and young, roughly twenty or thirty people. After the Xiao Army surrounded Kuiyuan, a band of desperate outlaws suddenly appeared as well, every one of them a burly, vicious man.
This band of evil bandits occupied the fortress and made themselves kings, using both threats and temptation to force the refugees to join them. The bandit chief drove these refugees as laborers, having them build a maze called the Seven-Star Formation at the entrance of the earthen fortress to defend against outsiders. Every day, they also went out to rob and plunder, killing and looting travelers fleeing south along the Fen River, as well as wealthy households who had escaped from Ant County.
These refugees had suffered endless bullying from the bandits and witnessed them kill people every day, but they dared be angry and dared not speak. It was not until half a month ago, when Zhang San suddenly broke in and slaughtered the whole gang of fierce bandits with his saber, that the entire fortress of refugees was finally saved.
Zhang San distributed all the wealth the bandits had plundered among the refugees, and most people took their families and continued fleeing south. Only these dozen or so able-bodied men and women, who had no elders or children to worry about, no relatives or old friends in the south to seek shelter with, and no wish to leave their northern homeland, stubbornly and shamelessly stayed behind in the fortress with Zhang San, dead set on following him. They even insisted on calling him their “new Boss.”
——
Seeing that he was leaving, everyone grew uneasy, afraid they would lose their support again.
Zhang San said harshly, “I told you when I first came here that I would leave sooner or later!”
Everyone’s eyes were red. “Boss…”
“I’ll leave the tiger cloak to you. Choose another Boss yourselves. There’s stored grain and fields in the fortress, enough for you to get by. Every day, go up the mountain and take a look. If you see Kuiyuan fall, then stop clinging to the north and flee south through the forest.”
Tears shimmered in everyone’s eyes. “Boss…”
“Don’t rob travelers, and don’t fight among yourselves. If I find out, I’ll come back and suppress you myself.”
Everyone burst into loud sobs. “Boss!”
“Let go of me! Don’t tug at my coat! This is the only complete set I have left, and I still need to wear it into the city! Hey! Hey!”
——
Li Si climbed out of the tunnel and picked up his quiver in the narrow alley where they had fought yesterday. He also picked up his saber, now split with a large notch, and turned it over and over in his hands with great reluctance.
In the early morning, the sun was not yet scorching. From the high wall on one side of the alley, a narrow strip of light spilled down. Zhang San emerged from the tunnel with his clothes in disarray and happened to see Li Si standing in that soft beam of sunlight, eyelashes lowered, silently stroking a broken saber. Though there was no expression on his face, somehow he looked both pitiful and wronged.
Zhang San could not help asking, “What are you crying for?”
Li Si raised his eyes, full of confusion. “I’m not crying.”
Last night’s tears had been the first time he had cried since he could remember, yet in Zhang San’s eyes, he had apparently become a sniveling little crybaby.
Zhang San frowned. “If it’s broken, throw it away. I’ll compensate you with another one.”
He ducked back into the tunnel and handed Li Si one of the broad single-edged sabers the bandits had previously used to rob travelers. Li Si pressed his lips together and stared at the greasy, grime-coated hilt, unwilling to reach out for it for a long time.
Zhang San saw through his thoughts and cursed, “You’re lucky there’s anything at all! Still being picky? What good weapon do you expect to find in this broken fortress?”
Li Si lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, “Is there an iron shovel?”
“For what?”
“I know where there are weapons. Two sabers.”
——
Each of them carried a broken iron shovel. Under everyone’s tearful send-off, they left the earthen fortress, followed the path Li Si had found the previous night, and climbed back up the mountain along the rockslide.
Li Si dug both Li Er and the Command Envoy out from beneath the stone pile. Then he found a conspicuous large tree nearby, dug a deep pit beneath it, and buried both bodies inside.
Zhang San could tell Li Si was in low spirits, so he did not speak too much. Silently, he worked hard, helping Li Si carry the bodies and dig the grave.
Before covering them with soil, Li Si jumped down into the pit and removed the two men’s sabers, handing them to Zhang San. Li Er’s bow had also been smashed, so Li Si did not take it and instead buried it beside Li Er. He straightened the Command Envoy’s cap and appearance, then carefully arranged Li Er’s clothing as well.
He wiped and wiped that stubbled face, but no matter how much he wiped, there were still wet marks. He could never wipe them clean…
After a long silence, Zhang San suddenly spoke. “Who is he to you?”
“My second uncle,” Li Si said.
Zhang San fell silent again.
——
Li Si wiped his uncle’s face one last time, then stood and climbed out of the pit.
His face was covered in dust and dirt. He only felt that the wind on the mountain was strong, blurring his eyes so he could not see clearly. Just as he was about to raise his hand to wipe them, warmth suddenly touched the side of his face. Zhang San had lifted his hand first, his warm thumb gently wiping Li Si’s cheek several times.
Li Si froze.
Zhang San coughed and awkwardly comforted him. “The dead cannot come back. Stop crying.”
Am I crying? Li Si thought blankly.
He still was not very good at sensing his own emotions, and he did not even know he was crying again. But he could sense the burning heat of his face. Unable to keep standing there in a daze, he slapped Zhang San’s hand away and said urgently, “You touched me again!”
Zhang San had kindly tried to comfort him only to be resented for it. Astonished, he said, “Who wants to touch you? I only saw you crying again!”
Li Si snatched one saber back from Zhang San—he took the Command Envoy’s saber. His second uncle’s saber was a broad-bladed single saber, while Li Si was used to light, narrow blades. The Command Envoy’s saber was a slender, narrow imperial saber.
Holding the saber in hand, he jabbed Zhang San hard with the scabbard. “You, you—stay farther away from me!”
Zhang San was utterly baffled. “What are you getting shy for?”
——
Zhang San knew Li Si was a little brat being teased and getting embarrassed. Li Si, however, thought Zhang San was bullying him again, and thought his cheeks were burning because he was angry. In the past, he had also been bullied by bad children in the military camp, but his emotions had been wooden, and he had never been this angry. Yet for some reason, whenever Zhang San bullied him, he became “angry,” so “angry” that his face burned again and again.
Why did Zhang San always bully him? Why was he so bad?
The two of them inexplicably began sulking at each other—mainly Li Si sulking at Zhang San—and each silently shoveled soil over the grave.
Digging and burying the grave took several hours, and the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky. The two sat far apart—mainly Li Si sat far away from Zhang San—each ate a piece of dry ration and drank a few mouthfuls of water, then climbed toward the other side of the rock pile.
Li Si climbed in front. A loose stone shifted under his foot, and he accidentally stepped into empty air. Zhang San supported him from behind in time. Li Si stepped firmly onto another rock, then quickly kicked back and said urgently, “Let go!”
Zhang San released the hand that had been supporting his backside.
Li Si once again became so “angry” that his whole face burned, then continued climbing upward. He thought the tiger bandit had finally behaved himself, only to hear him say from below, “Little colt, why are you just like a little donkey? Touch you once, and you kick.”
Li Si was not good at verbal sparring. Hearing Zhang San say he was like a little donkey, he thought for a long time before cursing back, “Big tiger!” After a pause, feeling this was not insulting enough, he added, “Big insect!”
Zhang San laughed so hard below that he trembled. In his delight, his foot also slipped, and with a crack, he slid far down.
Li Si hurriedly looked back at him, his own foot also dropping down, only to hear Zhang San say from below, “I’m fine! You keep going!” Judging from his voice, he was still laughing terribly hard.
Li Si cursed him again in his heart as a “big insect,” feeling that if he said it aloud, Zhang San would keep falling down endlessly, so he shut his mouth.
——
The higher they climbed, the more scorching the sun became and the more biting the wind grew, so neither of them had time to argue. After finally crossing the tallest boulders, they slid down the loose rubble on the other side, one step deep and one step shallow. Both swayed unsteadily, and neither could care about shyness or anger anymore. They tightly grabbed each other’s arms, supporting each other as they descended.
When their feet finally landed on level ground, both of them let out a long breath without realizing it. Li Si quickly released Zhang San’s arm—it was both firm and soft, bulging with muscle, extremely similar to what had struck his face last night. Not only his face, even his palm was burning.
Zhang San had no time to tease him. He vigilantly looked around. The desolate scene of broken stones and snapped wood was the same as on the other side of the rock pile, and among the remaining stones were several corpses, some lying face down and some sprawled on their backs.
Li Si went forward to search the bodies of those comrades. Zhang San sighed. “Who are these people to you now? Need to dig another pit? We already left the shovels behind.”
Li Si shook his head. He only removed an intact bow from one comrade, slung it over his back together with its bow bag, and collected the arrows into his own quiver. He scraped up yellow earth and covered each person’s face, ending this hasty burial, then straightened up.
“How many of you were there in total?” Zhang San asked.
Li Si did not hide it from him. “Fifty.”
Zhang San counted. “There are only five here. Add the two over there, and that’s only seven. Where are the others? All buried under the rocks?”
Li Si shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Zhang San looked around, then pointed at a line of messy footprints in the forest. “Looks like quite a few survived. Are they headed to Ant County?”
Li Si shook his head again. “I don’t know.”
Zhang San put his hands on his waist. “You don’t know this, you don’t know that. What damn use are you? So many people survived—why did that wax pellet have to fall to you, you little idiot ghost?”
Li Si was not angry despite being scolded. He slowly explained, “My second uncle suggested to the Command Envoy that we go to Ant County. Only my second uncle knew the road. Now that my second uncle and the Command Envoy are both dead, I don’t know where they would go.”
“There’s only one city on this mountain. They have nowhere else to go. Let’s go!”
Li Si shook his head again. “I don’t know the road.”
“Who’s counting on you? What damn use would counting on you be? I know the road. Let’s go!”
——
Zhang San truly did know the road. Not long after, the two stepped out of the mountain forest and appeared outside Ant County halfway up the mountain.
Ant County was a pocket-sized little city only four or five li around, built against the mountain. To the east it faced a cliff, from which one could see Kuiyuan in the distance. To the north and west, it was embedded into steep ridges. Only to the south was there one official road along the mountain, the sole path into this little city.
In short, it was a lonely mountain city.
Perhaps because it was hidden and hard to find, or perhaps because it was insignificant, the Xiao Army surrounding Kuiyuan twenty li away had not noticed it. Outside the southern city wall, everything was empty, with no signs of attack or battle. Atop the city tower, three or four zhang high, a Great Xuan flag quietly fluttered. Beneath it was only a single thick city gate, tightly shut.
With one glance, Li Si noticed several subtle bulges hidden beneath the withered grass along the road. He crouched and carefully dug at one with his scabbard. Buried inside was an iron caltrop used to block the passage of men and horses. Li Si had seen it in military books.
The two therefore shortened their steps and carefully moved around the iron caltrops.
When they reached a spot three or four meters from the southern gate, the ground under Li Si’s feet suddenly emptied, and his whole body dropped!
Zhang San, behind him, grabbed his back collar in time and lifted him up. The two were similar in height, but Zhang San raised both arms high as if holding up a long, skinny cat, carefully placing him back onto solid ground.
Li Si was slightly startled and looked down. He saw that the smooth patch of withered grass beneath his feet had collapsed, revealing a pit two or three meters deep. The bottom was densely packed with sharpened wooden stakes. If he had truly fallen in just now, he would have been pierced straight through.
Li Si had never defended a city, but he had also seen this thing in military books. “This is… a horse-trap pit?”
“What a fancy scholar-like name,” Zhang San said. “I just call it a death pit.” As he spoke, he lifted Li Si’s chin, making him raise his head together with him. From the parapet atop the city wall, a row of archers suddenly popped up, all drawing their bows and aiming at the two of them.
“A county this small actually set up defenses like these,” Zhang San said, casually pinching Li Si’s tender cheek. “Quick, use that lackey token of yours… Hey! Why are you kicking me again?”
——
A bamboo basket tied to a rope was lowered from the city wall. The two carefully crossed several rows of horse-trap pits and placed the Imperial City Directorate token into the basket. After the token was hauled up, a helmeted head peered down from above, examined the two of them, then waved behind him.
Before long, the two city gates slowly opened a narrow crack from the middle, and the two entered sideways one after the other.
As soon as they entered, several sabers pressed heavily onto their shoulders. Inside was a semicircular inner barbican, and several archers also stood on the small surrounding walls, all with bowstrings drawn and aimed at them.
Li Si looked around nervously. Zhang San, however, was very relaxed. He turned his eyes in a circle and asked curiously, “When was this barbican built? It wasn’t here before.”
A young leader in full battle armor, about twenty years old, descended from the city tower holding the Imperial City Directorate token. In the same Hedong accent as Zhang San, he said, “These are extraordinary times. Please forgive this lower official’s rudeness. May I ask the identities of you two officials, and why you have come here?”
Zhang San nudged Li Si. Li Si kept a stiff face and tried hard to organize his words, then slowly said, “I… am a drill instructor of the capital’s Longwei Army, ordered to go to Kuiyuan City to carry out military duties. Because Kuiyuan is under siege and difficult to enter for the moment, I need to borrow your county’s relay station to rest and reorganize.”
Hearing that Li Si was a drill instructor, Zhang San glanced at him curiously. He had not mentioned that last night. No wonder his skills were so clean and efficient—so he was already a drill instructor at such a young age.
Li Si had the official-speech accent of the capital, and with the token in hand, the young leader already half believed him. He asked further, “Since you came from the capital, do you know a Daoist priest who came with you?”
Li Si opened his eyes round, and his previously calm, aloof image instantly collapsed. “The one who looks like a horse? The one who breathes fire?”
The young leader froze. Zhang San burst out laughing behind him.
The young leader said awkwardly, “Cough, yes… I suppose so.”
“He is one of my traveling companions,” Li Si said. “There is also a Strongman who looks like a pig.”
Zhang San laughed even louder. The young leader said awkwardly, “Cough, isn’t he the Lion-Headed Strongman?”
Li Si explained quite seriously, “Once he takes off the mask, he has a pig face.”
Zhang San nudged him from behind and laughed softly. “Little colt, hurry up and shut your mouth.”
Fortunately, the young leader was a serious man, not someone who would make trouble or mock others. He ordered his subordinates to lower their weapons, returned the Imperial City Directorate token with both hands, and bowed in apology. “Honored officials, please forgive the offense just now. This subordinate is Liu Wu, the county constable. Please follow me.” With that, he led the two through the barbican and into the city.
——
As they walked, Li Si took the initiative to ask the young constable, “May I ask where Daoist Ma is?”
“Our county relay station is simple and crude, and Daoist Ma’s group has many people, so there is not enough space. They are currently staying at the county office.”
Zhang San suddenly cut in. “Many people? How many?”
“This subordinate knows that you officials suffered a landslide on the way and had heavy casualties. Daoist Ma’s group currently has twenty-six people remaining.”
Zhang San asked suspiciously, “In such extraordinary times, twenty-some military men with no identity tokens and unclear origins—yet you dared let them stay in the county office?”
Embarrassment appeared on the young constable’s face again. It seemed he also felt the arrangement was improper. He turned to look at Zhang San and asked, “Judging by your accent, sir, are you a local?”
Zhang San said, “I’m from Ant County. I joined the army at fifteen and have been away for eight years.”
The young constable was startled. “So you are a fellow townsman!” Learning that Zhang San had long experience on the battlefield, and adding the connection of being from the same hometown, he sighed and said, “Daoist Ma demonstrated his immortal fire wonder-art for our county magistrate…”
“What art?” Zhang San asked doubtfully.
The young constable stopped using refined official phrasing and sighed. “The Daoist breathed fire. Our county magistrate liked it very much and kept praising it as a wonder-art.”
Zhang San laughed. “Then I’d like to see what kind of fire-breathing big horse this is!” He turned back and asked Li Si, “Is it really that miraculous?”
After asking where Daoist Ma was, Li Si had fallen silent, keeping his eyes lowered as if thinking about something. Only after Zhang San nudged him did he slowly nod. “The fire is very big.”
The young constable added, “This morning, Daoist Ma also set up an altar and performed rituals. He said it was some military method passed down by his master that could make the people outside unable to see our county.”
Zhang San said, “Then how did the two of us see it from outside?”
The young constable said, “Well…”
Clearly, he did not believe that Daoist either, but unfortunately, he could not persuade the county magistrate, who seemed bewitched. Since he did not know what connection the two men before him had with Daoist Ma aside from being “traveling companions,” he did not dare say too much more. He fell silent and continued leading the two toward the county office.
Futile Devices Scans 
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