Where Immortals Once Walked

“Me?” The question clearly piqued Lu Yao’s interest. He set down his wine cup and frowned in thought for a long while.

“Dong Haoming’s early campaigns were legendary. But age has dulled him. Can you imagine? He did not even confirm whether the emperor was in the palace before launching an assassination. If that isn’t courting disaster, what is?” He drank another mouthful of wine and cracked a few peanuts his men had handed him. “And his sons? Useless, the lot of them. I once fought his second boy, Dong Haoye, right by Xiangrong Lake. The pup had skimmed a couple of military treatises somewhere and thought himself a strategist, daring to lead troops. His father probably just wanted him to win some merit on the field to pave the way for promotion at court. Instead, he ran into me!”

Just then, the cook brought over a pot of fish soup. The broth was milky white, rich and steaming, with a few sprigs of greens, a pair of tender mushrooms, and a pinch of hand-pulled noodles floating on top. He Chunhua splashed in a few drops of warmed wine, and the fragrance rose so thick that any meat-eating beast within two hundred meters would have salivated.

He waited until Lu Yao noisily slurped down half a bowl before asking, “And that battle, how did you fight it, General Lu? Tell me.”

Someone eager to hear his exploits was all the encouragement Lu Yao needed. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he grinned. “Dong Haoye thought our lakeside camp was empty, so he brought over a thousand men to raid it. He nearly caught us off guard, too! Luckily, I was out patrolling with three hundred men, and when I saw the distress signal blazing in the sky, I rushed back.”

He Chunhua gave a thumbs-up. “Three hundred against over a thousand. Impressive.”

“Hah! That fool even rode a white horse. On a moonless night, the beast practically glowed in the dark. One arrow from me, and he toppled like a sack. Down went the commander’s banner, and the men’s morale with it. That so-called army was nothing but a rabble. Within two clashes, we’d scattered them to the winds...”

* * *

Wu Shaoyi had let his mind wander, but before the rest of his troops from the base of the mountain even arrived, the sable was already back.

“There are soldiers hiding under Whistle Rock, at least five hundred. All of them are sitting in the dark without a single fire lit. I even saw two of them whispering and laughing like idiots until they got whipped for it. I recognized some familiar faces. They’re Lu Yao’s men.”

It spoke plainly, but no one was surprised. They had long since grown used to the creature.

Wu Shaoyi asked, “How far is Whistle Rock from Immortal Spirit Village?”

“For me, just a few dozen breaths. For you humans, about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,” the sable replied. “It’s spacious under the rock, spacious enough to hide hundreds at once.”

Wu Shaoyi’s face turned grim.

They were so close, and yet instead of joining the feast at Immortal Spirit Village, Lu Yao’s men were crouching in the cold, afraid to show so much as a flame. What else could that mean but an ambush?

The three generals had agreed beforehand that each of them would bring only two hundred men to the gathering at Twin Moon Bay. It was to create a balance and a safeguard. And now Lu Yao had secretly smuggled more than double that number into hiding. He had broken the agreement.

Wu Shaoyi had known it; Lu Yao could never be trusted.

He forced a deep breath, telling himself to stay calm. Then he asked, “And Immortal Spirit Village? What did you see there?”

“Lu Yao was at the lakeside with another man, sharing wine and roasting a massive fish. I heard him bragging about his past victories, and he called the man Lord He. He even gave him advice on how to take Wu Province and defeat the Minister of War!”

Wu Shaoyi’s expression hardened.

Lu Yao, drinking and feasting with a royal official? The very picture reeked of betrayal. And who else would ask Lu Yao’s opinion on fighting the Minister of War, if not someone from the court?

That surname, He... There’s no doubt about it. They’re definitely an official.

“They even joked about a few other generals, General Pei among them. Lord He praised him as steady and reliable. However, Lu Yao said that steadiness can also be a flaw. He said that General Pei’s concubine had been sleeping with another man, and General Pei hadn’t even raised a hand against him.” The sable then scratched its belly before continuing, “They laughed over it for a good while. Lord He pressed him to name who had taken the concubine, and Lu Yao said it was the Carefree General.”

Lastly, the sable added, “Oh, and one more thing. Behind that Lord He were rows of state soldiers in light armor. I counted at least two hundred in the village, all tense and on edge.”

Wu Shaoyi’s hand went straight to his saber hilt. His face turned ugly as he said, “Good, good! So that bastard Lu really means to trade our lives for his defection!”

Old grudges and fresh fury surged up all at once.

The guide went pale, eyes wide. “General Wu, don’t fall for the enemy’s tricks! Those soldiers are the very target we mean to cut down! General Lu is only keeping them occupied until you and General Pei arrive to join the slaughter—”

“You call it ‘keeping them occupied’ when he’s drinking and feasting with them?” Wu Shaoyi’s laugh was cold. “Didn’t you just swear there was nothing unusual in the village?”

“I...”

“And if there are only a couple hundred of them, Lu Yao could easily handle it himself. Why wait for us?”

The guide had no answer. He could not very well say that it was because his boss did not want to bleed himself, could he? Flustered, he stammered, “Think about that arrow-message! It must be some outsider trying to sow discord!”

Wu Shaoyi had no patience left. With a single backhand stroke, he lopped off the man’s head.

Even as blood dripped from the blade, he was already giving orders. “Send word to Pei Xinyong. Tell him that Lu Yao has broken our agreement, brought all his men, and is conspiring with officials to set us up.”

This meeting of the three armies had been Pei Xinyong’s idea in the first place. He was mild by nature, always eager to smooth things over. To secure his support, Wu Shaoyi instructed the messenger to emphasize Lu Yao’s vile slander, having him state Lu Yao’s crude jest about General Pei’s household.

Everyone knew General Pei’s favorite concubine was a beauty half his age. But the man was already past fifty, tied up with campaigns and duties, and no husband could answer such demands without fail. On one long expedition that lasted over four months, the concubine had strayed, taken another man to her bed, and even ended up pregnant.

When General Pei returned and discovered it, his fury was boundless. He killed her with his own hands on the spot, without even asking who the lover was. Afterward, he drank himself senseless for half a month.

That kind of humiliation leaves a splinter in a man’s heart forever.

Moreover, the Carefree General was already dead. So, even if Pei learned the truth now, he could hardly drag the corpse up to kill it again.

With that thought stoking his fire, Wu Shaoyi did not rush to move. Instead, he kept his troops in place, waiting for Pei Xinyong’s reply.

During that lull, Lu Yao sent scouts of his own. Wu Shaoyi’s men received them politely, claiming the general had drunk too much and was resting, but that they would resume their march shortly.

Another half-hour passed before Pei Xinyong’s answer finally arrived. It was brief, but enough:

“I have reinforced my men. I will hold the seven hundred stationed at Whistle Rock.”

That was all Wu Shaoyi needed. Confidence surged back into him. He gave a sweeping gesture and roared, “Move out! Our target, Immortal Spirit Village!”

Pei Xinyong likewise summoned the rest of his men up the mountain. Between them, they now commanded a thousand and six hundred troops.