Chapter 263: A Storm Is Brewing

Chapter 263 A Storm Is Brewing

“Let’s go, split into three routes and run. We can meet later at the Youjian Inn in Huangsha Market.” Zhao Changhe gazed into the distance at the approaching dust cloud of Hu cavalry and prepared to flee.

Situ Xiao, carrying the unconscious Qiao youth, said, “I’m not lugging this deadweight all the way to Huangsha Market. We’ll talk later. I’m off to find Cui Yuanyong and trade him for some wine.”

With that, he took off first—truth be told, because his lightness skill was the worst, and carrying someone might make him slower than the army, which would be a loss of face.

Besides, Situ Xiao had long wanted to challenge Yue Hongling… He’d felt he wasn’t quite ready before and was waiting for the right moment, but judging by how things were going now, this guy might end up being a friend’s wife, and there’d never be a chance to challenge her again… Damn, how come every woman seems to have something to do with you?

This friendship can’t go on; I’ll break it off another day.

“Hey, hey…” Han Wubing tried to grab Situ Xiao but was a beat too slow, watching him run faster than a rabbit.

He looked helplessly at Zhao Changhe, then at Yue Hongling. “Have I always been here at the wrong time? I’d better go first…”

Damn, how come every woman has something to do with you?

This friendship can’t go on; I’ll break it off another day.

“…” Yue Hongling crossed her arms and said, “What are you thinking? I’m the one who should leave.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Han Wubing: “?”

Yue Hongling said irritably, “Don’t you know the Hu have been hunting me from all sides for a long time? I don’t dare enter Huangsha Market at all.”

Zhao Changhe reached into his bosom and rubbed something, then pulled out a lump of yellow, shit-like substance, ready to smear it on Yue Hongling’s face.

Yue Hongling drew her sword to strike.

Zhao Changhe recoiled, laughing helplessly: “Just a disguise.”

“It’s useless. Any woman will be strictly checked. Haven’t you noticed no one dares bring women inside? Under the pretext of searching for ‘Yue Hongling,’ other people’s wives and daughters have been forcibly dragged to the beast market and sold several times already.”

“Just how much trouble have you caused the Hu to make it this serious?”

“None of your business?” Yue Hongling turned and walked into the stockade, annoyed. “I’ll find some food to take along. You two do what you need to do. I’ll find a way to come to you later.”

Zhao Changhe said, “How about we agree on a place outside?”

“Further northwest, there’s a stretch of rocky hills. I’m staying there for now. If you get a chance, you could bring some supplies out to me?” Yue Hongling’s tone unconsciously carried a hint of anticipation.

Han Wubing glanced sidelong at the two without speaking, and sure enough, Zhao Changhe replied with great alacrity, “Alright.”

“Then farewell.” Yue Hongling, in a good mood, went into the stockade to scavenge.

It felt good to have someone to rely on. She’d had some plans before, thinking it would be hard to do alone, especially now with the restrictions targeting her. But with Zhao Changhe and Han Wubing, both trustworthy experts, there might be some things she could attempt.

Over there, Zhao Changhe and Han Wubing looked at each other. Han Wubing said, “I’m staying at the Hu merchant inn by the beast market. Call me if anything comes up. No time to talk more—go now.”

“Alright. I’m at Third Niang’s Youjian Inn, going by the name Wang Daozhong. You can find me there if you need.”

Han Wubing: “…”

He turned his head and saw that Wubulu’s cavalry was already within a bowshot.

Without another word, the two of them shot off in opposite directions.

Unlike ordinary soldiers, these top-tier figures on the Qianlong list, famous across the land, were truly hard for regular cavalry to catch. Even Situ Xiao, whose lightness skill was his weak point, with his strength at the eighth level of Xuan Pass, could outrun any horse if he just bolted.

To trap such people, you’d need to send out stronger masters or set up an inescapable ambush in advance—otherwise, they were nearly impossible to capture.

That was also why Yue Hongling and the others had roamed the northern frontier for so long without much danger, and why Cui Yuanyong thought his dispatched squad shouldn’t have all been wiped out.

For them, horses were mainly for saving energy and travel. In battle, they were more accustomed to being on foot… Wait, that sounded a bit odd. Of course, without horses, they’d be in trouble—trekking across the vast grasslands and deserts on two legs would exhaust them in days. Yue Hongling had her horse hidden in those rocky hills, her temporary base.

In short, this group chatted calmly before the army arrived, only started running when the cavalry was at their heels, and still managed to vanish without a trace, disappearing into the night before anyone could find them.

The Hu commander leading the troops didn’t dwell on it. He waved his hand and said, “Don’t chase. Confiscate the goods from that caravan and take the people as slaves.”

The law of the jungle, nothing more.

Among the caravan, the quick-witted ones who had abandoned some goods and fled early had already escaped. Those too greedy to leave, still fighting over spoils, faced a tragic fate.

The deputy commander asked, “That woman we saw earlier should be Yue Hongling… Commander Wu’s previous orders said everything else could wait, but she must be captured at all costs.”

The commander waved dismissively. “That woman isn’t someone we can catch just by charging in with a mob. She soars better than a falcon. Even a hundred thousand troops might not be much use. Commander Wu has already asked the Khan to send real experts. That woman has been roaming the northern frontier too long, used to facing ordinary troops. This time, she might get a surprise.”

“So restricting her supplies is actually to keep shrinking the area she can operate in?”

“Exactly. If I’m not mistaken, since she still showed up here, she’s likely in the rocky hills to the northwest—there’s water under the rocks there.” The commander clenched his fist. “If she really is there, she won’t get away. When the time comes, rewards might come down, and everyone can have some fun.”

…

Over there, Zhao Changhe took a long detour, reapplied his yellow-faced disguise, and returned to the Youjian Inn in high spirits.

He didn’t enter through the tavern’s main door but went in from the back of the inn and slept straight until dawn.

That night had been too satisfying—he’d rescued a good man, killed a traitor, met friends, and swept away all the oppression and gloom he’d felt since coming beyond the pass. He felt like singing a song of triumph.

A man beyond the pass should be like this!

Next time, if he had the chance, he’d lead a squad galloping across the grasslands, charging through enemy formations, unstoppable—that would be the real thrill.

Zhao Changhe felt he might have that opportunity. He had some ideas he needed to test further.

He got up at dawn, washed up casually, and strolled out to the tavern. The morning tavern was still packed with customers. It seemed the place wasn’t just a wine shop; it also served breakfast, with all kinds of exotic Western pastries.

That morning’s breakfast was especially lively. All the guests were loudly discussing the shocking events outside the market the night before: “Damn, those Central Plains martial artists are ruthless. I heard there were just four of them, calling themselves elite troops on a raid, and they smashed through a thousand-man camp, slaughtered like a river, and burned it so bright the sky was red.”

“That’s an exaggeration. I heard they only burned the front and back of the camp, mostly to rescue people or something.”

“Then why are all the people from that caravan gone? And the goods too? That Bloodthirsty Shura, holding a head and shouting—other caravans nearby saw it.”

“…Maybe.”

“You believe their bullshit? If Central Plains martial artists were that strong, would this war even be fought? Bring a few hundred Yue Honglings and Zhao Changhes, and could they flatten a hundred-thousand-man army?”

“…Because Central Plains doesn’t just have Yue Hongling and Zhao Changhe; it also has Qiao Er.”

At that, the discussion cooled a bit.

Zhao Changhe sauntered in and sat directly at the counter, crooking his finger. “Third Niang, give me some specialty pastries. Not the Jiangnan kind—local ones, the more unique the better.”

Third Niang looked him up and down for a long moment. “Did you pull off something big out there?”

“What are you talking about? What does that have to do with me?” Zhao Changhe said. “I just went out for a stroll and came back… If I’d really robbed a caravan, would I still be buying pastries from you?”

Third Niang handed him a plate of pastries, looking a bit suspicious.

She knew he’d come back in the middle of the night, but he wasn’t carrying any goods, which didn’t fit someone who’d just looted. For someone surviving in a place like this, it was almost incomprehensible to come back empty-handed. Could it really not be him?

Then how could it be such a coincidence? She’d just told this guy that Qiao Er might have slaves, and the next thing she knew, those slaves were rescued. And he said it had nothing to do with him?

Zhao Changhe ate his pastry and started boasting: “From what they’re saying, that’s pretty impressive. Really just four people?”

“Yeah, it should really be just four.”

“That Bloodthirsty Shura Zhao Changhe is amazing!”

“Yeah, four against a thousand—that’s two hundred and fifty each. The Chaoshan Ranking gave him a spot on the Qianlong list earlier, and it makes perfect sense.”

Zhao Changhe choked on a mouthful of pastry, nearly coughing it out. “Third Niang, do you have a grudge against them?”

Third Niang said leisurely, “Of course I do. Yue Hongling, Situ Xiao, Han Wubing—they’ve all spent money here. Only Zhao Changhe hasn’t. What, don’t you consider me Yuan Sanniang a Central Plains person?”

Zhao Changhe silently pushed a silver ingot across the counter.

San Niang asked in surprise, "What for?"

"Just some dry rations and water. I'm going out."

"Going far?" San Niang looked at him meaningfully. "You've come all this way, and there's still so many interesting things in Yellow Sands Market you haven't seen, and you already want to leave?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Like the beast arena? Honestly, not much interest. Seeing injustices and wanting to intervene, only to find oneself powerless—how painful would that be?"

San Niang said, "You're a strange one. Others come to this hub of commerce hoping to find treasures not found elsewhere, but you—what did you come for?"

Zhao Changhe stood there dumbfounded.

San Niang sighed, "I reckon even if Zhao Changhe himself came, he'd have to yield his title of 'fool' to you. Truly a pair of numbskulls."