After the Bloody Battle

The battle of attack and defense at Yang Family Fort ultimately ended in a costly victory for Yang Family Fort.

Only when they counted the bodies did the people of Yang Family Fort realize that this could no longer be considered an ordinary Hu raid. There were over two hundred Hu corpses inside the fort alone, and among them had even been armored commanders wielding vicious blades as vanguards.

Such a ferocious force would have been more than enough to fight a small-scale battle. Used against a tiny village like Yang Family Fort, it should have been enough to slaughter the entire village, leaving neither chickens nor dogs alive.

Fortunately, it had all finally passed.

From the moment the armored Hu commander was cut down, the young men of Yang Family Fort had finally rallied for one last counterattack. Even though it had no order or method to it, nothing more than a beastlike fight for their lives, the blood-soaked courage that burst forth at death's door, coupled with Du Chengfeng constantly swinging his great saber and harvesting lives, had terrified the remaining Hu out of their wits. They knew only to flee in panic, never daring to look back.

"Thanks to you, Yang Family Fort made it safely through this crisis!"

Looking at the thirty-odd young men of Yang Family Fort who had survived this disaster, the aged Yang Xuan could not help bursting into tears.

"Brave men, please accept this old man's bow!"

"Mm..."

The thirty-odd young men leaning on spears and lances remained silent.

They truly had nothing to say. After all, they had not been the ones chiefly responsible for the killing. If the tally of over two hundred was taken into account, the number of enemies these thirty-odd men had killed could, at most, count as the extra bit after the two hundred.

As for the two hundred before that, those had all been killed by Du Chengfeng alone.

Thinking of this, the young men leaning on their spears and lances turned to look at Du Chengfeng atop the mountain of corpses.

"Those bodies? Indeed."

Noticing where the young men were looking, Yang Xuan sighed.

"Though we should certainly reward you all now, I ask that everyone lend one final hand and gather up the corpses within the fort. First, to prevent any plague from breaking out in the village; second, so that those brave men who died in battle may be properly buried."

Thus, though their bodies were weary after the great battle, the young men all busied themselves. Fortunately, they were not alone in gathering the corpses. The elderly, weak, women, and children who had originally hidden within Yang Family Fort also came out to help.

Yet whenever someone happened to see relatives, brothers, or even their own sons and nephews among the piles of corpses, their eyes would still secretly fill with tears.

Then they would grit their teeth and continue carrying the bodies of their loved ones to the open ground outside the fort.

The young men who had died in this battle, whether descendants of the Yang Clan or wandering refugees, were all buried in the Yang Clan cemetery. Though some members of the Yang Clan strongly objected, believing that the ancestral grounds of the Yang Clan were not fit for burying outsiders, the aged Yang Xuan merely shook his head at such words.

"Look at the blood on the ground. It all flowed from those brave men. Can you separate that blood, distinguish the Yang family's from that of outsiders?"

At those words, the Yang Clan members with objections had nothing left to say.

Whether they were members of the Yang Clan or refugees from elsewhere, after this night, their blood had truly flowed together.

The bodies of their own people naturally had to be buried. The enemy corpses, however, were another matter.

One Hu corpse after another was carried out. These bodies would all be burned, and the ashes left behind would be scattered over the fields according to the customs of their forefathers. It was said that this would ensure those damned Hu could never find release for all eternity. More importantly, it was said to make the crops grow better.

And after the last Hu corpse was carried away, the trouble Yang Family Fort least wanted to face was finally laid before them.

"Ah..."

Looking at Du Chengfeng lying on the ground, the aged Yang Xuan could not help feeling a toothache.

"You there, Old Li, was it? How did you stop him just now?"

"I..."

Carpenter Li, who had been called over, stammered, uncertain how to begin.

He did not know why he had been able to stop Du Chengfeng at the time. He had been scared half to death himself. Yet when he saw Du Chengfeng, having already killed all the Hu, raise his great saber and prepare to continue slaughtering the young men of Yang Family Fort, he had still scrambled down from the corner tower and stood before him.

As for why he had stepped forward even knowing he might be killed, Carpenter Li truly did not know. He had not thought that much at the time.

Perhaps it was only because he felt that this young fellow, who often came to help him with work, was rather kind. He could read and understood propriety, and he was willing to work diligently. So he could not be some wicked man who slaughtered innocents at will, could he?

"Clan Uncle, I still think we cannot keep him."

Just as Carpenter Li was still somewhat dazed, Yang Sanlang, having changed into another pair of trousers, strode over and shoved Carpenter Li aside.

"He has fainted now, yes, but that is only because his strength is exhausted. If he wakes up and decides to kill my Yang Clan again, will we truly have any power left to resist?"

"You..."

Yang Xuan frowned deeply.

From a rational standpoint, Yang Sanlang's concerns were not without reason. If not for Carpenter Li's inexplicable shout that had stopped him, Yang Family Fort might truly have been slaughtered to the last man. Yet no matter what, Du Chengfeng before them was still the hero who had saved all of Yang Family Fort from the Hu blades. To strike him down while he was utterly defenseless like this—was that not a little too...

"Clan Uncle, I know this is wrong too. But for Yang Family Fort, I am willing to be the villain."

With that, Yang Sanlang picked up a spear from the ground.

Holding the spear backward, Yang Sanlang twisted his waist and hips, swung his arm, and hurled the bloodstained throwing spear toward Du Chengfeng's heart.

This was Yang Sanlang's signature technique. The heavy, powerful throwing spear was enough to nail a person completely to the ground, let alone when Du Chengfeng, its target, had already lost consciousness and was utterly unable to fight back.

Yet at that very moment, an arc of light swept through the air.

The heavy throwing spear silently snapped into two pieces and fell to the ground.

Yang Sanlang saw the blade.

Though Du Chengfeng had lost consciousness and lay on the ground, the ancestral treasured saber that should have belonged to the Yang Clan was now angled toward Yang Sanlang's neck.

Pointed at by that great saber, he felt like a squealing pig already trussed up and waiting for the butcher's knife.

"Ah!!!"

The pungent stench of blood rushed into his face. Yang Sanlang screamed and, once again, collapsed onto the ground on his backside in fright.

He would have to go change into another pair of trousers.

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