Futile Devices Scans

The morning sunlight climbed over Yuquan Mountain to the west and spread across the vast, level river-valley plain.

Lotus Lake had frozen over, covered by a thin layer of snow. Under the dawn light, it shimmered with broad swaths of golden radiance. The scene of the rising sun should have been clear and magnificent, yet that same clear light cruelly illuminated the corpses strewn beneath the city walls.

After the desperate battle the previous night, nearly all two thousand Xuan cavalry had perished beneath the city. Before their deaths, they had not broken their oath, taking nearly a thousand Xiao soldiers down with them. The Xuan army wore red armor, the Xiao army black. The bodies of soldiers and warhorses from both sides lay piled together, like tangled masses of red and black thread, a cruel and unbearable sight.

The inner city stood adjacent to the western gate of the outer city, and both the prefectural yamen and relay station were located nearby. Zhang San and Li Si quickly followed Wang Xu to the western wall.

Prefect Zhang had already arrived. He was still wearing the same purple robe from the previous night. The garment was stained with dust and wall debris, wrinkled and disheveled everywhere, making him look dirty and bedraggled. His face matched the state of his robe. His dull eyes were bloodshot, the wrinkles at their corners carved as deeply as ravines, making him appear even more worn and haggard.

The three young subordinates, however, paid little attention to his exhaustion. After hastily paying their respects, they immediately turned their gaze outside the city. Roughly two thousand Xiao soldiers stood three hundred meters from the walls—far enough away to avoid arrow fire. Judging from their crude light armor and weaponry, they were not the heavily armored Xiao cavalry that had come from the north the previous night, but rather the remnants of the western camp that General Sun had attacked.

After helping slaughter the Xuan cavalry during the night, the heavily armored Xiao cavalry from the north had hurried back to their original positions to guard against any developments there. Before departing, they had captured several dozen Xuan cavalrymen alive—some wounded, some maimed—and left them in the care of the western camp.

The western camp had never possessed many troops to begin with. Having lost half its men during the night and then endured scolding and punishment from its superiors from the northern force, its commander was filled with resentment. As soon as dawn broke, he reorganized his banners and brought the injured Xuan prisoners to the city walls to humiliate and provoke the defenders.

Wang Xu led the other two into a protruding horse-face wall. The three hid behind the battlements. Zhang San and Li Si squeezed together at the same narrow opening and peered outside.

They saw the Xiao soldiers binding the prisoners’ hands and feet and dragging them behind horses in circles along the lakeshore. Though hundreds of meters away, the prisoners’ screams could still faintly be heard on the sharp morning wind.

The defenders atop the walls all looked furious, glaring with burning eyes. Prefect Zhang’s face turned even grayer as he frowned silently.

The prisoners rolled across the ground, cursing nonstop. One of them must have shouted something particularly vicious, for he enraged the Xiao commander. The man was dragged before the army. First his tongue was cut out, then he was pinned to the ground and beaten and kicked. Finally, the commander drew his blade and appeared ready to chop off the man’s limbs one by one.

Li Si suddenly leaned out from behind the battlements.

Zhang San grabbed him. “What are you doing?!”

“Give me a bow,” Li Si said urgently. Before Zhang San could answer, he repeated, “Give me a bow!”

Rarely seeing him so agitated, Zhang San held his wrist and turned to plead, “Brother Xu, lend him a bow.”

The distance between the two sides was too great for an ordinary bow to hit. Wang Xu therefore asked, “How many dan can you draw?”

“Two dan,” Li Si replied.

Wang Xu’s eyes lit up. “Good lad! Someone, bring me my Golden Crow Bow!”

Dan and dou were units used to measure the draw strength of bows and crossbows. Ten dou equaled one dan. In the Xuan army, an ordinary bow was usually only eight dou. A soldier who could draw a bow of one dan and two dou and hit seven shots out of ten would already be ranked among the elite. Those capable of drawing two dan were exceedingly rare.

Wang Xu possessed tremendous strength and powerful arms, so he had commissioned a specially made long-siyah bow called the Golden Crow Bow. It had a draw weight of two dan and two dou, far beyond the ability of ordinary soldiers.

Wang Xu handed the powerful bow to Li Si and also brought him a quiver of heavy arrows.

Li Si removed his thick outer coat, which only got in the way. From his belt sash, he took out a bone thumb ring and slipped it on before raising the bow.

The Golden Crow Bow was broad and powerful, two dou stronger than the two-dan bow he normally trained with. He frowned slightly and began drawing the string.

Though he looked lean and was certainly not as physically imposing as Wang Xu, his body carried no excess flesh. His shoulders were broad and his muscles compact and strong. As the bowstring slowly drew back, the muscles of his back and shoulders tightened beneath his thin shirt, forming ridges and curves like the spine of a dragon.

The bow bent into a perfect full moon.

The arrow pointed toward the vast earth.

Then it flew.

——

The Xiao commander held a curved saber. He had already chopped off one arm of the prisoner who had cursed him. Standing amid a pool of blood, he planted a foot on the prisoner’s chest and mocked him with humiliation and scorn.

The prisoner’s tongue had been cut out, leaving him unable to curse. Instead, he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva into the commander’s face.

The commander’s expression darkened. He removed his helmet, wiped his face, then hurled the helmet down onto the prisoner before raising his saber to strike again—

A faint sound suddenly sliced through the wind.

The Xuan prisoner lying on the ground unexpectedly revealed a bloody smile.

The surrounding Xiao soldiers had not yet reacted when the commander suddenly froze. His saber slipped from his hand, and both hands flew to his throat.

An ordinary-looking feathered arrow had appeared from nowhere and pierced straight through his neck.

The commander’s strength vanished. He toppled backward. His personal guards turned pale and rushed forward, hastily raising shields to protect him.

But it was already too late.

The arrow had passed through his throat. His eyes bulged wide, blood pouring from his mouth. Yet death did not come immediately. He could only choke and gurgle in agony, producing strange, pitiful cries.

Then a second arrow screamed through the air.

It pierced the shaft of the Xiao army’s banner.

The cold morning wind immediately snapped the damaged pole. The great banner bent and broke in midair, flapping wildly and emitting eerie creaks, like a ghostly soul-summoning standard.

The guards shouted in alarm. The Xiao soldiers scrambled into defensive formations. Their entire army fell into chaos.

——

On the city wall, Li Si lowered the bow after releasing two arrows in succession.

The effort had been so great that the muscles of his back felt as though they were on fire.

When the soldiers on the wall saw him strike down the enemy commander and break the enemy banner, they could not help cheering.

Prefect Zhang visibly relaxed and looked at him with approval.

“Good lad!” Wang Xu shouted in praise.

Everyone was exhilarated, but Li Si felt no satisfaction at all.

He hurriedly looked back toward the battlefield, only to find that the prisoners had been obscured by the panicked Xiao soldiers. He could no longer tell what had become of them.

He had crushed the enemy’s morale and won a moment of glory—but what of it?

Could he save those prisoners?

Suddenly, his forehead grew warm.

Zhang San had reached over and firmly kneaded the deeply furrowed crease between his brows.

Then he draped Li Si’s discarded coat back over his shoulders, pulled the collar snug around him, and fastened the ties while quietly reassuring him,

“Don’t think too much. You’ve already done very well.”

——

At that moment, a commotion of hoofbeats echoed along the wall-top horse road, approaching from the east.

Chief Commander Wang had arrived with several hundred cavalry.

The three young men and Prefect Zhang immediately went forward to greet him.

Chief Commander Wang swung down from his horse, exchanged formal greetings with Prefect Zhang, then rested a hand on the sword at his waist and swept his gaze across the crowd.

His booming voice rang out:

“Who fired those arrows?”

Li Si was somewhat afraid of him. Somehow, he always felt that this stern old general’s next move would be to raise his sword and roar, “The one who loosed the arrows shall be executed immediately!”

He instinctively took a step behind Zhang San.

Only for Zhang San to shove him right back out into the open.

Zhang San answered in a booming voice, “Reporting to the Chief Commander! It was Envoy Li!”

Li Si was shoved forward so suddenly that he was stunned. His face was filled with betrayed disbelief as his dark eyes stared blankly at Zhang San.

Chief Commander Wang praised, “Good lad!”

Zhang San promptly pulled Li Si back behind him and muttered, “He’s praising you. Why are you glaring at me?… Ow! Why are you kicking me again?”

Chief Commander Wang turned and cupped his fists toward Prefect Zhang. “Prefectural Lord! The Xiao army is in chaos. The opportunity must not be missed! Please grant permission for this subordinate official to lead eight hundred cavalry out of the city, strike their ranks while they are disordered, and rescue our captured soldiers!”

Prefect Zhang was horrified and immediately pulled him aside. Lowering his voice, he said, “Absolutely not! The western gate has no barbican for protection. If the Xiao reinforcements from the north arrive and trap you beneath the city walls as well, would that not doom Kuiyuan?”

Chief Commander Wang grasped his arm and gave it a firm squeeze. “Yong Xi, after what happened last night, our army is already unsettled and fearful! Now we suffer this kind of provocation again. Who can endure it any longer? If we endure it, who will still believe Kuiyuan can be saved? I fear even the defenders themselves will lose faith! I must leave the city today, and I will return. You know as well as I do that I have launched surprise attacks from the eastern gate several times before and never failed. Do you not trust even me?”

“T-this…” Prefect Zhang’s face was filled with anxiety, his eyes bloodshot.

Chief Commander Wang barked, “The opportunity cannot be missed! Will you still hesitate and ruin everything? Yong Xi!”

Prefect Zhang trembled all over. He closed his eyes and silently gave consent, no longer trying to stop him. Supporting his weakened superior, Chief Commander Wang handed him over toward his son. “Wang Xu! Take care of Prefectural Lord! I have already ordered three hundred Divine Arm Crossbowmen transferred from the northern wall. They will arrive shortly. Hold the line on the wall. In one stick of incense’s time, cover the cavalry’s return to the city!”

Wang Xu loudly acknowledged the order and immediately began arranging the deployment.

Seeing that Chief Commander Wang was already mounting his horse, Zhang San strode forward and reported, “Chief Commander! This subordinate wishes to join the battle!”

In the midst of his busy preparations, Wang Xu interjected, “A’Xiao! Your shoulder is injured!”

“I’ll handle the horse for him!” Li Si quickly volunteered as well. When Chief Commander Wang’s imposing gaze swept over him, he immediately hid behind Zhang San again.

Seated atop his horse, Chief Commander Wang removed the sword at his waist and tossed it to Zhang San. “Two fine young men! Come fight alongside this old man!”

⸻

The two once again shared a single mount and rode out with Chief Commander Wang and eight hundred cavalry.

Since Kuiyuan had been besieged, Chief Commander Wang had launched numerous night raids from the eastern gate. Protected by the Eastern Barbican, the city’s cavalry could burst forth unexpectedly, catch the enemy camp off guard, charge through in a whirlwind of slaughter, then retreat back behind the protection of the barbican and the archers on the walls. It was his signature tactic.

The western gate, however, faced the lake and was the only gate without a barbican. The gate itself was extremely narrow, allowing only a single rider through at a time. If the cavalry were pursued too closely during their retreat and became trapped beneath the walls, it would become a death trap. Therefore this battle had to be swift and decisive. Every soldier had to be back inside before the Xiao reinforcements from the north arrived.

The eight hundred men exited the city in succession. Zhang San and Li Si rode near the rear. By the time they emerged through the gate, the cavalry ahead had already crashed into the Xiao army.

The Xiao soldiers repeated their old trick, blowing whistles to call for reinforcements. Once again, harsh warning horns echoed across the plain.

Directly above the western gate stood a two-story gate tower. Wang Xu was directing operations there. Hearing the horns, he knew there was no hiding the battle from the northern Xiao camp. He simply grabbed a drumstick and personally beat the war drums to encourage the troops. Flags waved atop the walls, and shouts shook the heavens.

Although the Xiao force numbered roughly two thousand men, most were infantry. They possessed only around two hundred cavalry, all lightly armored. Their camp had already been attacked by the Xuan army the previous night, and now their commander had been killed by an arrow through the throat. Their morale had long since collapsed.

The moment they saw the city gates open and Xuan cavalry charging toward them, the two thousand men immediately fled westward in panic, their formation disintegrating.

Chief Commander Wang issued a whistle command. The cavalry split into two forces, encircling the fleeing enemy from both sides and slaughtering them as they pursued.

One Xiao officer, apparently a deputy commander, rode through the chaos shouting and cursing as he tried to restore order. Instead, he was overwhelmed by his own fleeing troops. In the midst of the confusion, Chief Commander Wang rode straight at him and cut him from his horse with a single slash.

Clad in heavy armor and wearing a blazing scarlet cloak over his shoulders, Chief Commander Wang wielded a massive horse-cleaving saber. Every swing carried overwhelming momentum. It was difficult to believe he was already nearing sixty years of age.

After killing the enemy deputy commander, he roared into the mass of fleeing enemies, “Save our men first!”

The accompanying Xuan soldiers immediately scattered to pursue the Xiao light cavalry. Most of the prisoners were tied behind their horses.

⸻

Zhang San and Li Si reached the front lines.

Holding Chief Commander Wang’s sword, Zhang San leapt from his horse and plunged directly into the fighting.

Li Si carried the Golden Crow Bow on his back. Its long limbs made it awkward to use from horseback, so he also jumped down. Standing amidst the scattered battlefield, he drew the bow.

One arrow.

A fleeing Xiao cavalryman instantly tumbled from his horse.

The pursuing Xuan cavalry quickly surrounded the mount and rescued the prisoner tied behind it.

Li Si drew again and again, specifically targeting Xiao cavalrymen dragging prisoners behind their horses.

Twenty or thirty riders fell in succession.

At last, someone noticed the hidden master archer within the chaos. With a shout, several Xiao soldiers turned and fired at him simultaneously.

Focused entirely on rescuing prisoners, Li Si failed to realize he had become their target. He reached toward his quiver for his final arrow—

Only for Zhang San to suddenly throw himself at him and tackle him to the ground.

The two rolled across the snow as several arrows struck the earth around them with sharp whistles.

Zhang San had barely made it in time and was badly shaken. Since only his right arm could currently exert force, he had been forced to abandon even the sword while diving. He wrapped Li Si tightly in his arms and protected his head against his chest as they rolled.

The Xiao soldiers who had fired were quickly overtaken by pursuing Xuan cavalry and disappeared into the distance.

⸻

The two of them rolled across the ground, ending up covered in icy snow. Only after a long moment did Zhang San lift his head. Half his face was dusted with snow, and his sharply sculpted features looked as cold and intimidating as carved ice.

“You little idiot!” he snapped in exasperation. “Don’t you know how to dodge?!”

During that tumble, Li Si’s face had been forcefully pressed against Zhang San’s chest. After only a few days, this was already the second time he had been smashed into that place. His ears rang with a sudden buzz, his vision went black, and his soul seemed to fly right out of his body.

Now he remained buried motionless against Zhang San’s chest, not making a sound.

Thinking he had been injured in the fall, Zhang San hurriedly rolled to one side and cupped his face to check him. Li Si’s entire face was flushed pink, his breathing rapid, his eyes staring blankly ahead. No matter how Zhang San shook him or patted his face, there was no response at all.

“How did you get knocked stupid too?” Zhang San said anxiously, hurriedly pulling Li Si to his feet.

Looking up, he saw that the Xuan cavalry had already chased the routed enemy far into the distance. There was no catching up now, so he let out a sharp whistle. Their mount, which had been wandering near the lakeshore, immediately came running over.

Half carrying and half shoving him, Zhang San got the dazed and vacant Li Si onto the horse. He slung the Golden Crow Bow over his own back, retrieved Chief Commander Wang’s sword, and hesitated. Should he wait here for Chief Commander Wang and the others to return, or should he first bring the now-addled Li Si back to the city?

Glancing behind him, he suddenly spotted someone lying prone not far away, dressed in a Xuan soldier’s uniform. Leading the horse by the reins, he headed over.

——

It turned out to be the prisoner whose tongue had been cut out and whose arm had been chopped off by the Xiao commander.

Earlier, the battlefield had been thrown into chaos, dust and debris flying everywhere, and no one had been able to find him. Only now, after the fighting had shifted westward, had he come into view.

The Xiao commander’s corpse had already been taken away. Only this fellow soldier remained, lying alone on the ground in a pool of blood, his condition uncertain.

Zhang San hurried over with the horse, dropped to one knee, and checked for breathing. Finding that the man still had a faint breath left, he immediately tore a strip from his coat with his teeth and bound the severed arm as tightly as he could before attempting to lift the soldier onto the horse.

The man’s body was limp. With an injury behind his shoulder, Zhang San could not properly support him with one arm alone, so he shouted urgently, “Sisi! Help!”

Li Si remained dazed and motionless.

Both angry and worried, Zhang San carefully laid the wounded soldier back down, rolled up his sleeve, and delivered a sharp smack to Li Si’s backside.

“Wake up!”

Li Si jumped from the blow. The vacant look vanished instantly from his eyes. Clutching his backside, he stared blankly at Zhang San, then noticed the wounded soldier and hurriedly scrambled off the horse.

Together they lifted the man onto the mount. Li Si sat behind him, supporting him with both arms. Afraid that jolting movement might worsen his injuries, he guided the horse forward at a slow walk. Zhang San followed alongside on foot, carrying both their weapons.

——

After they had gone a little farther, Zhang San noticed Li Si repeatedly looking up into the distance.

“What are you looking at?” he asked.

“…The spear,” Li Si replied.

Among the tangled heaps of corpses beneath the city wall stood a bloodstained silver spear planted at an angle. Its spearhead had broken off, and only a dark-red tassel fluttered in the wind.

Wanting to recover General Sun’s body, Zhang San stopped. “Take him back first and get him treated. I’ll go take a look.”

Li Si withdrew his gaze and obediently headed toward the city gate.

Yet before he had even reached it, Zhang San came running back, his expression grave as he grabbed hold of the reins.

“What happened?” Li Si asked.

“I didn’t find the body,” Zhang San replied.

Li Si looked surprised. “Is General Sun still alive?”

The spearhead was gone, and the shaft was covered in blood. General Sun had clearly fought until the very end and had shown no intention of surrendering. Zhang San did not believe he was still alive.

After years of campaigning, he knew exactly why the enemy might carry away a corpse. Seeing the innocent spark of hope in Li Si’s eyes, however, he could not bear to crush it. He simply shook his head.

“Don’t think too much about it. Let’s get back to the city.”

——

The drums atop the city walls still thundered, but the rhythm had changed. The rapid, urgent beats were a signal to return.

To the north, Xiao cavalry reinforcements were once again racing along the lakeshore.

Chief Commander Wang gave a signal. The Xuan cavalry immediately wheeled their horses around and began withdrawing.

The riders maintained excellent order, entering the city in sequence. About half had returned when the reinforcements closed to within a few hundred meters.

The rear guard formed a defensive formation. Chief Commander Wang sat astride his horse at the very front, broadsword held across his saddle.

The Xiao cavalry surged forward like a black tide, threatening to swallow up the remaining soldiers—

Then a signal sounded from the city wall.

Three hundred Divine Arm Bow crossbowmen emerged from the gaps in the battlements and fired in perfect unison.

In an instant, a rain of bolts became a white wave crashing back toward the Xiao cavalry.

The heavily armored riders in the front ranks were pierced through one after another, men and horses tumbling to the ground.

The Divine Arm Bow was one of Xuan’s greatest military weapons. Though called a bow, it was actually a heavy crossbow with a range of up to three hundred meters. At distances of only one hundred meters, it could even punch through heavy armor.

These crossbows were difficult to manufacture, and their operators required specialized training. The entire city possessed only about five hundred of them, which was why Chief Commander Wang had stationed most of them at the frequently attacked northern and eastern walls. The three hundred crossbowmen here had all been transferred from the north.

The Xiao reinforcements had enjoyed an easy victory during the slaughter beneath the western gate the previous night and had assumed the western defenses were weak. They had never expected to be ambushed by Divine Arm Bows today.

The losses were devastating.

The Xiao cavalry immediately turned their horses and retreated.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chief Commander Wang led every remaining soldier back into the city. The drawbridge was swiftly raised, and the gates slammed shut.

Just as he had promised before departing, the entire force returned safely within the time it took to burn a single stick of incense.

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