Chapter 8: Life Is a Game, and We Are All Pieces

Inside the stronghold, Feng Lingxue and Lin Hongxiu stood on a concealed rise.

“What do you make of it?” Feng Lingxue asked, looking into the distance.

“In a fight to the death, Gao Yuan is no match for Wu Xiangbei. Yet Wu suddenly withdrew. Something is unusual.”

Zhou Xing and Xu Mazi might not have seen it, but Lin Hongxiu, with her military background, had spotted the problem at once. “They seemed to exchange a few words during the final part of the fight. They must have reached some private agreement.”

“An agreement?” A faint, intrigued smile touched Feng Lingxue’s lips. “A bandit who can trade more than ten blows with Wu Xiangbei and persuade him to withdraw is interesting indeed.”

After a pause, she looked up at the sky. “Hongxiu, I’m not leaving. I want to stay here a few more days.”

Lin Hongxiu stared. “Your Majesty, how can someone of your station remain in this filthy place?” They had planned to escape the stronghold in the confusion. She had never expected Feng Lingxue to change her mind.

“Even if we get out, Dangyang and Guan Feixiong’s ten thousand Beimang soldiers lie ahead. Guan Feixiong in particular will never let me return to Shangjing alive. It is safer to remain here for the moment.”

“But this is a bandit stronghold! The men here are vulgar and shameless, especially that bastard. He’s…” Remembering the night before, Lin Hongxiu felt her face grow hot.

Feng Lingxue shook her head. “You have misjudged him. Gao Yuan is no ordinary man.” Watching the bandits return in the distance, she added, “Let’s go back. I’ll find a chance to speak with him alone. Something unexpected may come of it.”

What could she possibly have to discuss with such a brute? Lin Hongxiu wanted to argue, but Feng Lingxue was already retracing her steps. She swallowed her objections and hurried after her.

……

In dense woods ten li from Blackwind Stronghold, nearly a hundred horsemen waited in silence. Their horses’ mouths were secured with ropes; only their restless hooves scraped against the earth.

The riders wore light armor, carried longbows, and had quivers fastened to their saddles. With yellow beards, hair in many small braids, and deep-set eyes, they were soldiers of Beimang.

Their leader was a broad middle-aged man with a sallow complexion and a felt hat. His fine tanned-leather armor was studded with copper, and a lion’s head ornament adorned his blue-green belt. At his waist hung a well-made short blade with a bear carved on its sheath. A heavy iron cavalry lance stood planted in the ground beside him.

He was Guan Feixiong, commander of the Beimang army.

An elderly man sat on horseback beside him. Around seventy, he wore plain white silk beneath a sable cloak. His white beard, more than a chi long, was neatly groomed and stirred in the breeze. His eyes were narrowed as if he were dozing. He looked like a man of Wei; why he was with the Beimang army was unclear.

A rider entered the woods: a Beimang scout. He dismounted, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands. “General, Wu Xiangbei attacked Blackwind Stronghold for less than an hour before withdrawing. He did not press the battle.”

Guan Feixiong shifted in his saddle and frowned. The old man opened his eyes. They were cloudy, but a closer look revealed a chill that discouraged anyone from meeting them, like the gaze of an old fox lying in wait.

“He withdrew?” Guan tapped his scabbard, considered for a moment, and turned to the elder. “Master Pei, what do you think?”

Pei stroked his beard, eyes narrowing. “The plan was to set the tiger upon the wolves. It should have been flawless. This sudden withdrawal is indeed strange.” His measured speech had a scholarly air.

“Do we attack anyway?” Guan asked.

Pei waved a hand. “Wu Xiangbei’s forces have suffered no losses. A rash attack would gain us little.”

Reluctance showed in Guan’s eyes. “We can’t do this, we can’t do that. When are we ever going to take Dangyang?”

Master Pei smiled faintly. “A man pursuing great things does not reckon his gains and losses by a single city. More than Dangyang, I want to know whether that person is dead.”

At the mention, Guan’s heart tightened. The old man had come from Shangjing without holding any official post, but he had brought a secret letter. When Guan read it, even he, a man who had clawed his way out of heaps of corpses, broke into a cold sweat. He knew the plot was a capital offense against his sovereign. The name on the letter and the promise of reward, however, had persuaded him to take the risk.

“What now?” Guan asked with a sigh.

“Since there is nothing to gain, we withdraw. Hold the border and find out what happened in Dangyang yesterday. If that person lives, we must find them; if dead, we need the body.”

The plan had been to strike after Wu’s battle with Blackwind, when his troops were exhausted. They would kill Wu and finish off the stronghold at the same time. With Wu’s head in hand, they could break Dangyang’s morale and take the city without another fight. Once the stronghold was destroyed and Dangyang captured, their target would have nowhere to hide.

It had seemed perfect. No one had foreseen this turn of events. Human plans, it seemed, could not command fate.

Guan nodded. There was nothing else to do. Once he had taken that first step, there had been no going back; he could only stake his life and follow the path to its end.

Life was a game, and they were all pieces on the board.

……

At Blackwind Stronghold, Wang Shuang was carried away to have his wounds treated with a local remedy. Gao Yuan went straight back to his ramshackle house.

Shen Shuting rushed into his arms as soon as he entered. The softness pressed against him stirred his desire. Now that he had tasted intimacy with her, he would have gladly taken her again if the others had not been there.

Had Lin Hongxiu heard that thought, she would have cursed him. Shameless! As if the presence of others had stopped him before!

Feng Lingxue watched with amusement; Lin Hongxiu’s gaze was guarded. Mu Baizhi looked Gao Yuan up and down, curious and astonished. She had not gone outside, but she had heard some of the news about him.

“Are you hurt?” Shen Shuting drew back and inspected him from front to back. Her eyes reddened. “Thank heaven! You’re alive.”

Then she seemed to remember something. Leaning close to his ear, she whispered a few words.

Gao Yuan looked toward Feng Lingxue and Lin Hongxiu, his eyes narrowing with a cold light. Feng Lingxue met his gaze calmly, without the slightest fear.