Volume One: The Wild Child Chapter Seventy: The Madman's Nightmare

Kui Sheng was the nightmare of the Northern Territory.

Yet Yong Chi always sneered at such talk. In his eyes, that fellow was nothing but an empty figurehead, borrowing Yu Baili’s renown—how could he compare with their band of hardened cutthroats, who had spent years licking blood from the blade’s edge? When all was said and done, any battle is easy if you have an overwhelming force on your side.

Thus, among the Northern warlords, save for the men of Mount Si, none would ever list Kui Sheng among the truly formidable commanders.

A glory-seeking fraud? Which man of the North was any less than him?

But in truth, perhaps they were lacking something. For over a month, countless renegade generals had stormed Mount Si, only to be repelled by this unassuming fat man holding the mountain against all odds.

Notorious bandits loved to take animal monikers, from eagles to ants, every bird and beast represented among them.

The day Mount Si was besieged, a whole nest of snakes and rats met their end there.

"Have they come up already?" That day, Yong Chi had narrowly escaped with his life from Mount Si, and now he trembled in terror. He could hear the roars of the fierce warriors below—countless men as savage as wolves and tigers shouting for his capture, their voices slicing through the air, resolute and thunderous. The officers of Weinan Mountain were too busy packing their treasures to pay the slightest heed to the fate of the battlefield below.

Liu Er spat viciously, hauled Yong Chi to his feet, and bellowed at him, "If you keep acting like this, you'll be meat on the butcher’s block! Don’t forget, back when Yu Baili was still around, how you schemed against Kui Sheng in secret? If he storms the mountain now, don’t think you’ll even get a swift death—your whole household will suffer!"

Yong Chi climbed up, shadows flickering across his face. He slowly drew the saber at his waist, his expression twisted. "We need to think of something. Just the two of us can't possibly hold off Kui Sheng’s troops. Has Ma Hui’s promised relief not arrived yet? If Weinan Pass falls to Mount Si, once they catch their breath, Ma Hui himself will be next!"

"The title of our Grand Marshal is not for you to address so casually!" The tent flap was kicked open. A man, face bristling with displeasure, strode in as though disgusted to be lending aid to such useless men as these.

"And who might you be, sir?" Seeing an unfamiliar face, a spark of hope flared in Yong Chi’s heart, and he bowed low, his voice soft and deferential.

The man swaggered to the head of the table, planted his fist on it, and said with no small disdain, "I am Guo Huai, sent by Grand Marshal Ma Hui to save your miserable lives. My vanguard is already by the Nine Bends River. By the time we finish this conversation, they should be engaging that rabble at the foot of the mountain."

"Shouldn’t you see for your—" Yong Chi began, but Liu Er hastily elbowed him aside and took up the conversation. "Are you General Guo Huai, the Tiger of Azure Clouds? I have long heard of your prowess in seizing seventeen fortresses—regretted never meeting you. Now, in our hour of peril, we are truly blessed by Heaven to have you come to our aid! As for the Mount Si bandits, surely you’ll sweep them aside with barely an effort?"

Guo Huai waved his hand, his expression softening. Rising, he helped the two men straighten up. "You overpraise me. I am but an errand runner for the Grand Marshal. Still, with Yu Baili gone, it’s odd that a little Mount Si should plague the old man so. As subordinates, we must share our master’s burdens. But to be frank, I’ve marched for days to save you outsiders—there’s no sense in it. So, why not let Weinan Mountain come under our Grand Marshal’s banner from now on?"

Liu Er and Yong Chi nodded eagerly, grins spreading across their faces. A savior from the heavens—this was the best news they’d heard since the siege began.

"Since you both agree, I have one small request," Guo Huai went on. "Now that I am your superior, I do my filial duty to the Grand Marshal by worrying for him. Shouldn’t you, as my subordinates, show some filial respect as well?"

Yong Chi pounded his chest. "Our lives belong to you, General—take anything you wish from this mountain, I’ll not utter a word!"

"Oh?" Guo Huai’s gaze turned sly. "So if I ask for your wife to attend to me, you have no objection?"

Yong Chi’s smile froze. Suppressing his fury, his hand crept to his waist.

"Look at you," Guo Huai snorted, "I’m only teasing you. A brother’s wife is sacred. Still, on the road here, I caught quite a few deserters fleeing with their families. Those are mine to deal with—no complaints from you, I trust?"

"Of course, General. We would never interfere," Yong Chi replied, sighing with relief and ignoring Liu Er’s frantic tugging at his sleeve.

Guo Huai crossed his legs and burst out laughing. "In that case, there’s nothing more to discuss. Sit and chat a while—before long, the head of Mount Si’s commander will be on this very table!"

...

Weinan Mountain’s forces had been torn into pieces. Under the venomous assault of the Viper, they were breathing their last, quietly awaiting death.

Kui Sheng was famed for his cunning on the battlefield, yet in every move he showed a deep caution. This contradictory habit saved him once more that day.

Guo Huai’s troops, hidden in the shadows, waited for their prey to relax—when Mount Si’s army finally broke the last resistance of Weinan Mountain.

"Wang Li, according to General Guo’s plan, now is the perfect moment to strike," Qiu An said, rubbing his hands together, eyes gleaming with impatience.

Wang Li stroked his gleaming bald head, sounding hesitant. "Look at Weinan Mountain’s troops—they’re crumbling at a touch. I don’t think they’ve worn down Mount Si’s spirit at all. If we attack now, I fear it’s ill-advised."

Qiu An shot him a glare. "We’re not the likes of Weinan Mountain! Two dogs fighting, you’d lower us to their level?"

"But what draws dogs like that? If not a bitch, then a pile of dung. And as the saying goes, don’t stop a dog from eating dung, or it’ll think you want it yourself. Better to wait—when our reinforcements arrive, we’ll surround them easily."

Qiu An smacked Wang Li on the head and ignored him. Drawing his saber, he licked his lips, eyes fixed on the battlefield.

"Don’t tell me you actually want to fight for that pile?" Wang Li muttered. "Look at you, licking your lips. I left a couple of piles myself in the grass—"

Qiu An’s blade silenced him. Mounting the ridge, he surveyed his men coldly, as if contemplating something.

"The enemy is but a band of desperate hill bandits! By General Guo’s order—end this quickly and don’t shame his name!" With that, he leveled his blade at the fight and charged.

The closer Qiu An drew to the rear of Mount Si’s troops, the fiercer his expression became. Unlike others fighting to survive, Qiu An came from a wealthy lineage—one of the few in the North. No one could understand why he became a bandit.

Among these rough men, his refined appearance seemed out of place.

But his true strangeness was the madness that lurked beneath that cultured exterior.

This mad dog had set his sights on Mount Si.

Alone, he charged, a one-man army, towards Kui Sheng, who seemed unaware.

His blade flashed, felling several soldiers in his path, until the weapon’s deadly edge sought Kui Sheng’s vital point.

Qiu An grinned, swinging his blade at Kui Sheng’s waist, already savoring the imagined beauty of steel biting through flesh.

Kui Sheng, back turned, wore a sly smile.

When Qiu An locked onto him amid the chaos, Kui Sheng too had scented his foe.

Blade met blade. Qiu An’s smile faded, surprise flickering as Kui Sheng’s ring-hilted saber blocked his strike.

"Those weaklings from Weinan Mountain couldn’t have stalled us this long. Who do you think the Mount Si troops are waiting for?" Kui Sheng knocked aside Qiu An’s blade, raised his own, and pointed it at his foe’s face.

Qiu An licked his lips. This prey was more formidable than he’d expected. "No matter what, you’ll die by my blade. Can a little caution make up for the vast difference in our numbers? My men are but the vanguard—there are several seasoned corps behind!"

Kui Sheng’s grin widened. He didn’t answer. Instead, he waved his hand before Qiu An’s eyes, then, seeing curiosity and a hint of anticipation, slowly extended his middle finger.

"There’s no force on earth that can claim to have destroyed the iron cavalry of Mount Si! Boys, enough games—show these scavenging mongrels what real cavalry combat means!"

His words fell like stones into the sea—none of Mount Si’s men replied, but instantly the sound of blades drawn and horses mounted echoed as one.

Qiu An sneered. To waste time forming up on a battlefield where everything changed in an instant—how many lives did they think they had?

Soon, his sneer turned to shock.

A demon’s low chant, and the madmen of this world saw hell.

Iron hooves trampled the field, charging from the mountain pass to the plain, harvesting souls with nightmare and death.

On Weinan Mountain, Guo Huai was still laughing with Liu Er and Yong Chi, but his vanguard was vanishing between one word and the next.

Qiu An had overreached. His lines stretched perilously thin, and Kui Sheng’s troops turned them into noodles drawn through a sieve, weaving shadows at the foot of Weinan Mountain.

Bodies piled into valleys, blood ran like seed.

"Next year’s harvest will be bountiful," Kui Sheng said, patting the stunned Qiu An, sparing his life with a laugh. "Next time, wait for your full force before you fight. Tell your general, when we meet again, don’t stand so arrogantly in your array."

With that, the thunderous cavalry swept past the mountain gate, leaving Qiu An alone in the wind, bewildered.

...

"Report!" A battered soldier staggered into the command tent, dropping to his knees before the three gathered men. Guo Huai, still smug, smiled at Liu Er and Yong Chi. "See how brave my vanguard is? In no time the bandits will be wiped out! Bring in Generals Qiu An and Wang Li—let Weinan’s masters behold true warriors!"

The messenger kept his head low, voice trembling. "Our vanguard is nearly annihilated. General Wang Li is gravely wounded, and General Qiu An… he seems to have lost his mind, just staring blankly."

"See, the enemy is..." Guo Huai’s smile froze, then fury erupted across his face. "Our vanguard outnumbered Mount Si’s troops nearly two to one! Even if these two idiots led the men, they shouldn’t have lost so badly. Bring those fools here—I want to know what kind of idiocy could squander so many lives!"

...