"Clang-"
A silver moon hung overhead as a black eagle swept across the vast sky, its eyes looking down on the endless plain. Three figures, tiny as grains of rice, could be seen fleeing for their lives through the fields.
More than half a li behind them, a small dot followed close on their heels.
Thud, thud, thud...
Yang Tuyan wore black martial garb, dressed like an ordinary escort. After his long, desperate run, his breathing rumbled like thunder. Sweat rolled down the face of a man barely in his thirties, and his eyes were thick with bloodshot veins.
Beside him, Chen Yi'an, the owner of the escort agency, charged through the lush fields with a broadsword in hand, glancing back from time to time.
Several piercing points of light still floated above the county town, turning the earth as bright as day. They were growing ever more distant.
But half a li behind them, a black line was spreading through the wheat toward them at breakneck speed. It flattened the golden crop in its path, sending the heads of wheat swaying wildly. From a distance, it looked like an arrow skimming the ground, shooting straight toward the three men.
"Huff... huff... who's behind us?"
"Probably an ordinary embroidered-clad officer. If it were a military officer with a name on the rankings, he would have caught us long ago..."
"What do we do?!"
"Huff..."
Yang Tuyan was running at the front. He glanced back, a fierce killing intent flashing in his eyes, but there was simply no way to turn back in their present situation.
When Yang Tuyan and the Eight Pillars Hall's informant had discovered that the Snake Eunuch had suddenly sealed the city, they had hidden in a secret chamber beneath the escort agency.
They had considered breaking out, but the gates were sealed. Their only way out was over the walls.
And how keen were Ruan Jinyu's eyes? All he had to do was stand somewhere high, and climbing the walls would be no different from walking into a trap. Even with ten more legs apiece, they could never have escaped the clutches of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion's Four Heavenly Kings.
So they had no choice but to gamble that Ruan Jinyu lacked precise information and couldn't find them. They hadn't even realized the Flower Judge was closing in.
Under normal circumstances, their deaths would have been certain. They wouldn't even have had a chance to notice beforehand.
But unexpectedly, having many enemies had its advantages too. A Later Zhou intelligence chief had also found his way there and run straight into Luo Xuanqing.
Realizing the court's forces had been drawn away, they had seized the chance to climb over the city wall. Seeing the court's hounds growing more distant, they had thought no one would notice them.
But just as they were fleeing with all their might, they spotted a figure leap down from the wall and give chase.
The Yongzhou plain stretched as far as the eye could see, and with a bright moon overhead, there was nowhere to hide once they left the city.
Their pursuer wasn't particularly fast, so they had intended to shake him off at full speed. But who knew what had gotten into him? Even knowing he was outnumbered, and that his martial skills were nothing special, he had left the main force behind and dared to doggedly pursue them alone.
If the three turned back to deal with their tail, the other embroidered-clad officers would very likely catch up. But if they didn't, they couldn't shake him.
The stalemate had lasted for more than ten li. Yang Tuyan's chest felt ready to burst, and the weaker of the three, the escort agency's deputy, had even begun to fall behind.
Yet the man behind them was still chasing fiercely, as though even if he couldn't catch them, he meant to run them to death.
"Huff..."
Chen Yi'an carried his broadsword. Its seven or eight jin would normally have been as light as a feather, but now the uneven weight threw off his balance, and it felt as heavy as a mountain. After a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Do we split up, or deal with this man first?"
Yang Tuyan wanted to split up, but he had been leading the three all along. Their pursuer wasn't blind; after chasing them this far, would he really abandon the leader to go after a lackey instead?
If they kept running like this, it was hard to say whether their pursuer could hold out, but the deputy, who had already begun to fall behind, would surely run until he spat blood first.
Seeing that the county town had vanished beyond the horizon and no other embroidered-clad officers had caught up, Yang Tuyan abruptly slowed, lowered his body, and skidded to a halt in the wheat.
"Stop and see what happens first."
Rustle~~~
Chen Yi'an and the deputy had long since reached their limits. Both skidded to a halt, using the wheat to conceal themselves as they gasped for breath.
"Huff, huff..."
As the three stopped and disappeared from sight in the fields, the rapid rustling more than half a li away also came to an abrupt halt.
The entire plain fell deathly silent beneath the silver moon. Only the faint rustle of the night wind brushing through the golden wheat remained.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Half a li behind them.
Ye Xingge knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his sheathed saber in one hand. His gray robe was soaked through with sweat and clung to his broad chest and back. Steam rose from him as he breathed heavily like a bison, his gasps even carrying a hint of hoarseness.
"Huff~ huff-"
His head throbbed and spun, and his vision had grown a little blurry. Ye Xingge knew his lungs weren't far from bursting.
But if he failed to catch the three ahead, it wouldn't be his lungs that burst, but the rest of his life.
So after a dozen or so breaths, Ye Xingge gritted his teeth and pushed himself up on his saber. He walked forward through the wheat, alert to every stir within several li.
Hongyu had been keeping watch from the background all along. Fully aware of the danger of pursuing desperate fugitives alone, she warned him:
"If you can't do it, think of another way. You're one against three, with no reinforcements. Exhausted as you are, something could easily go wrong."
"They're tired too. I don't believe they can still be full of life after running this far..."
Ye Xingge saw no movement in the wheat and knew the three must be lying low where they had disappeared, resting. He didn't run now, but walked as he steadied his breathing.
Swish, swish~
His body made a soft, continuous rustle as he passed through the wheat.
Ahead, Yang Tuyan crouched very low. Through gaps in the wheat, he could see a dark figure slowly approaching, and his gaze sank to rock bottom.
"There's something wrong with this man. He doesn't seem like an ordinary embroidered-clad officer. Be careful."
Chen Yi'an was a veteran of the jianghu. He didn't need the warning to know something was wrong with their pursuer.
If a government officer were tracking them, and his martial skills weren't enough to ensure he could kill them while outnumbered, he would surely retreat when they advanced and pursue when they fled, keeping them entangled.
With half a li between them, they would have to be mad to turn around and chase him. There would be nothing they could do but keep running.
But now their opponent had actually chosen to press closer. By the look of him, he was preparing to charge their formation with a single saber.
The risk was enormous; he could even be said to have nine chances of death and one of survival. An embroidered-clad officer earned only a dozen-odd strings of coins in salary. There was no way he would be so reckless.
Even treasure hunters of the jianghu would never do such a thing.
Chen Yi'an watched for a moment and saw that the man had no intention of stopping. He asked:
"Is he an enemy of yours?"
In his quest for revenge, Yang Tuyan had killed countless Great Yan officials and civilians. He had too many enemies to remember them all. He replied:
"Possibly."
"No wonder. Without the hatred of a family slaughtered, he wouldn't have chased us this far. By the look of things, we can't shake him. Let's finish this quickly and get away."
"Go."
Any movement in the wheat would give them away, so there was no possibility of circling around for a sneak attack. If they delayed too long, other pursuers might also catch up. The three rose from the wheat at once and took up a triangular formation with sabers in hand.
Rustle~
More than a hundred paces away.
Ye Xingge saw the three jianghu men stand up, but didn't pause at all. He simply continued forward with his saber, studying the details of the three men.
The man in the middle had a steady bearing. His left foot was forward and his right foot back, his saber level with his hip and his left hand pressing forward. It was the Three-Body Hidden Saber Stance of Mizong Form and Intent, an official Great Zhou martial art. Its fighting style emphasized advancing straight ahead with simple, forceful blows, which matched Yang Tuyan's background...
The burly man on the left had his feet wider than his shoulders, his knees bent in a crouch and his saber upright to guard his centerline. His lower body was as steady as if rooted to the ground. It was the standing posture of Bajiquan Single Saber, a style that emphasized fighting head-on at close range, pressing and crowding the opponent. He was likely Chen Yi'an, the owner of the escort agency.
As for the middle-aged man on the right, holding his saber in both hands...
The small fry wasn't worth mentioning.
Ye Xingge reached a point thirty paces away and still did not stop. He merely sank his shoulders and lowered his elbows as he advanced, his right hand closing around the hilt.
Shing~
The three-foot Black Banner Saber slowly left its sheath, revealing a line of cold light beneath the silver moon.
Chen Yi'an's eyes were tigerish and his bearing formidable, but seeing the young man in the bamboo hat gradually approach, ready to fight without a word, he couldn't help feeling a little less sure of himself.
After all, anyone in his right mind could see how uneven the odds were.
Even if you had a blood feud and one of you had to die, couldn't you at least curse them a couple of times and let your opponents know who you were?
Charging to his death with a single saber without a word-could he be a madman?
Yang Tuyan fixed his gaze on the man in the bamboo hat pressing through the wheat. When he saw the Black Banner Saber, he spoke first.
"Who exactly are you?"
Rustle~
Ye Xingge tossed the sheath into the field and held his saber upright before him in both hands, shifting his steps slightly to the right.
"I'm only here to kill Yang Tuyan. You two can leave."
Chen Yi'an was certain now that this was Yang Tuyan's mortal enemy. He studied the man carefully, but couldn't tell which school of saber arts he practiced. He spoke again.
"Sabers and swords have no eyes. Once we fight, life and death are hard to predict. Even if you want revenge, you need to be sure of yourself."
Ye Xingge said nothing. He simply watched the details of the three men's postures and pressed steadily forward.
Swish, swish...
Seeing his relentless advance, Chen Yi'an thought the man was even more like a mad dog than Yang Tuyan. He said no more, merely signaling his deputy with his eyes to test the man's depth.
The middle-aged swordsman on the right also wielded a nine-ring broadsword. His chest was still heaving. After swallowing, he lowered his saber and moved in first, while the other two followed...