Where Immortals Once Walked

Immortal Spirit Village was no more than a hamlet with scant supplies. If Lu Yao really dragged all a thousand and four hundred of his men up the mountain, how would he feed them? Were they supposed to eat tree bark and grass?

And who knew how long this “council” of rebel generals would last? At the very least, there would be meetings upon meetings—scheming, wrangling, sorting out pecking orders, drafting some rules, then rousing the men with speeches and deploying plans—only after all that could they disperse.

He Lingchuan concluded, “In that case, Wu and Pei must have about the same number of troops as Lu Yao. Which means, even combined, the forces that will be gathering at Immortal Spirit Lake should only amount to seven or eight hundred.”

Madame Ying blinked in confusion. “Seven or eight hundred? But didn’t that man-eating general already have seven hundred hidden at Whistle Rock?”

“Exactly!” He Chunhua cut in, eyes bright. “Clearly, the three of them made an agreement beforehand. They likely agreed to only bring two hundred into the village. The village can’t support more, and this way they can keep each other in check, so no side dares make the first move.”

The rebel generals were likely to have agreed to an arrangement wherein unintended conflict and accidental mishaps were prevented.

At this, everyone’s hearts steadied.

Their own three hundred soldiers, strengthened by the mandate token, could fight an army of four or five hundred strong. Facing seven or eight hundred rebels was still daunting, but not a crushing disparity.

And besides, these were routed troops fleeing from Woling Pass. They were broken dogs, and their spirits had long since been crushed. If the forces of the He Family fought with unity and courage, they could perhaps not only survive the ordeal but even decimate the other party in its entirety!

Battles where outnumbered troops triumphed against enemies over double their number were no myth. There were many precedents. Even He Chunhua himself had once won such a battle in his younger days.

“In other words, these three factions are all watching one another. That’s a weakness we can exploit. As for those seven hundred rebels Lu Yao summoned from Desheng Town, they may have been meant to ensnare us, but Wu and Pei don’t know that.” He Yue chuckled. “If Lu Yao doesn’t attack us tonight, then those seven hundred serve no purpose at all. Who’s to say they weren’t really brought just to intimidate his two supposed allies?”

The group exchanged looks, and everyone exhaled in relief.

He Chunhua’s expression had lightened considerably. “Once the three rebel generals meet, they will have to determine a clear hierarchy, or else their few thousand men will remain headless rabble. An army can only march to one voice. If we can stir the pot at the right moment, we might be able to move a thousand pounds with four ounces of force[1].”

He went on, lowering his voice, “I’ve heard that Wu Shaoyi and Lu Yao share a blood feud. Wu once stole military credit, and Hong Xiangqian favored him all the more for it, and that became something that Lu Yao could never forgive him for. And there was a woman, famed for her beauty, whom Wu wished to marry as his principal wife. Lu Yao got to her first, defiled her, and afterward had her cooked and served up to Wu. They say when Wu lifted the lid, he was met with her face still wearing a smile.”

He paused to drink, wetting his throat. “General Wu flipped the table on the spot and led his men to attack Lu Yao. In the end, it took Hong Xiangqian himself, wielding the full weight of his authority, to suppress the matter. One can well imagine how little love remains between the two.”

“They actually have a grudge like that?” He Lingchuan was astonished. “Lu Yao is nothing but a man-eating fiend, hardly a founding figure of their uprising. Why did Hong Xiangqian keep him around so long?”

“Because he’s a butcher who knows how to win,” He Chunhua replied readily. “Once under Hong Xiangqian’s banner, he won seven battles in a row. In one of them, he crippled Zhao Ronglue, the so-called Iron Bucket General, gouging his eye out, leaving him maimed, and securing Woling Pass for the rebels. Soldier and foe alike fear him instinctively. That fear was something that Hong Xiangqian could put to good use.”

A peerless butcher, in the right hands, could become a peerless weapon.

“But Hong Xiangqian is dead now,” He Lingchuan said slowly. “Without him to keep order, perhaps the other rebels loathe Lu Yao more than they fear him. Why would they agree to meet him here at all? With the pillar gone, wouldn’t the roof beams shake loose?”

“That much, I can’t say. Each of them surely has their own plans and schemes.”

He Yue voiced his thought aloud, “For now, our priority is to find the other two rebel armies.”

“If the rendezvous is set for tomorrow afternoon, they should already be ascending, or maybe even already near the summit,” said Mozhe Jingxuan. “Thieves scout the ground before they strike. Even rebels must come up early to study the lay of the land.”

“There are only two roads up or down the mountain, both leading to Immortal Spirit Village. Night trails are treacherous, so they won’t dare take hidden paths.” He Chunhua turned to his guards. “Bring the guides here.”

After a round of discussion, a plan began to take shape.

He Lingchuan had only sparked the idea; after that, everyone else chimed in with their own strategies, leaving him little space to contribute further.

Hence, he simply reached for another apple. This one looked riper, hopefully less sour than the last.

By the time he had nearly finished eating, they had concluded their deliberations. Only then did he add, “Words alone won’t convince Generals Wu and Pei. If you want their trust, Father, they must see it with their own eyes. Otherwise, the three of them will reconcile before long and toast their brotherhood in harmony. Seeing is believing. Ideally, you should let them witness you and Lu Yao appearing to be in cordial talks.”

“See it with their own eyes...” Mozhe Jingxuan murmured, thoughtful.

He Chunhua ordered a guard to fetch paper and a brush. “I will also write to the Hebei local militia garrison and ask them to send troops. We’ll be taking two approaches at once.”

Madame Ying frowned with worry as she asked, “Will they agree?”

“If the rebels show weakness, they will.” He Chunhua’s voice carried a weight of meaning. “Broken armies dare not posture as brave. We hold the momentum of victory at Woling Pass, so how could we fail to cow these cowering curs? And if the garrison responds, they will also earn a fine military merit.”

Mozhe Jingxuan cleared his throat and added, “The rebels plan to entrench themselves here. How could the local commandery administrator tolerate that? It would be best for him to cut this cancer out early, before it properly takes root.”

He Chunhua bent over the desk, brush flying, and in a single stretch completed the letter. Before it was sealed, He Lingchuan stole a glance and almost laughed. In the letter, his father had written that there were “over a thousand routed rebels.”

If the figure was exaggerated, reinforcements might shrink back from aiding them. But that “thousand” was chosen with care. With the He Family’s own three hundred elite troops, the local militia garrison and the local official troops would know that two or three hundred more would be enough to escort them. Yet if the higher-ups truly meant to wipe out the rebels, they would need to muster two thousand at least.

And besides, the numbers were not wholly false. Once the three factions joined at Immortal Spirit Village, the total would really hover just above a thousand.

Before long, the letters were completed.

Watching from the side, He Lingchuan could not help but feel respect.

Here was a man stationed at the kingdom’s most remote border, and yet He Chunhua knew the affairs of Yuan as though they had always unfolded right before his very eyes. He had mastered the temperaments of rebel leaders, the disposition of the local commandery administrator, the troop counts of the local militia garrison; every detail was firmly in his grasp.

His mind was simply spectacular.

The realm of Yuan was vast. Without urgent couriers, a message sent from east to west would take more than a month by relay horse. Yet though cut off in this outmost frontier, He Chunhua still grasped the pulse of the state. Such awareness could only be bought with inexhaustible effort, wealth, and connections.

1. This is a more common saying, and I’ve chosen to just translate it as how it’s usually translated. These are usually found in martial arts and physics contexts. ☜