Mu Ling’s attack came at the same time as her husband Shen Mohuan’s. While Xu Ziling was busy with blocking Shen Mohuan’s serpentine pike, she slipped in from the left side. The sharp top of her shield, which was wide at the top and tapered down at the bottom, shaped like tree leaves, suddenly swept across horizontally, like a clump of cloud swiftly slashing the Ten-thousand-Li Spots’ neck. This move was extremely vicious and sinister, which was also impossible to defend effectively.
The most fierce and severe was that she exploited the horse speed to greatly enhance the momentum of her attack, so that not only the opponent had to grasp the changes of her move, but also to calculate the momentum of the horse’s four legs.
The husband and wife’s coordinated move was like seamless heavenly clothes, ruthlessly delivering a frontal assault toward Xu Ziling. Even with Xu Ziling’s martial art skill and his ability to gauge the enemy, he knew that it was difficult to block this couple, evil husband and wife coordinated attack on horseback.
Shen Mohuan’s lance technique already reached the level of grandmaster, founder of a sect. The lance that appeared to be simple actually hid myriad of changes. Only by giving everything he had that Xu Ziling was able to hit the tip of the lance with the back of his bow. He felt that the opponent’s attack, in which the true qi was linked in countless ways, left him with no choice but to give it all before he was able to deal with it.
He suddenly shouted, “Fenghan, protect the horses! Shaoshuai, kill the people!”
This was precisely Xu Ziling’s brilliance. He did not fall into the trap of focusing his attention to block Mu Ling’s shield attack; instead, he dealt with Shen Mohuan with all his strength, so that Kou Zhong, which was at his right rear would have a good chance to put the enemy to death.
Although in front and back, all around was full of the enemy, yet the three were engaging the husband and wife team of evil thieves in close combat, in face-to-face confrontation; the rest momentarily did not have any chance to join the fight.
If they could not seize this opportunity to kill Shen Mohuan, an instant later the fight would develop into a melee, and then they would not have such a good chance anymore.
On Xu Ziling’s left side, Ba Fenghan laughed aloud while injecting his true power into the horse’s body, urging the horse to run faster, without paying the slightest attention to Mu Lings shield, sweeping across to cut Xu Ziling’s mount. His long sword, which was now called the ‘Stealing the Heaven’, which mighty power overawed the prairie, thrust forward following his leaning body, turning into sharp rainbow, swiftly slashing Mu Ling’s throat. Following the sword body, the sword qi burst forward in increasing intensity until it reached its apex, fierce and severe to the extreme point.
Kou Zhong’s mount stayed close to Xu Ziling’s, the Moon in the Well rose high overhead, and then it chopped down in straight line, hacking the middle section of Shen Mohuan’s serpentine lance.
Both sides’ movements were lightning fast, putting the horses’ brilliant characteristic as warhorses in full display, without the slightest amount of reliance to luck.
Mu Ling let out a tender shout, the cavalry sword in her right hand slashed diagonally down on the Stealing the Heaven Sword, the shield in her left hand canceled its attack on the Ten-thousand-Li Spots, and was pulled back to protect her body.
Ba Fenghan’s sword strike was the culmination if the skill he cultivated his entire life, it forced her to have no choice but to deal with it will all her strength.
‘Thwack!’
The back of the mulberry wood bow clashed against the tip of the serpentine pike. Shen Mohuan was shocked to find that Xu Ziling’s strike, which appeared to carry ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt force was actually as light as a feather, empty and floating. This was the first time that he encountered such martial art skill. Unexpectedly the qi power that he sent out in his attack was like throwing a stone and seeing it sinking without trace in the sea; it failed to affect the opponent the slightest bit.
Just as he wanted to shift his spear sideways and pull back his true qi, the back of the opponent’s mulberry wood bow suddenly generated irresistible sucking force, pulling him, along with his horse, toward Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well, which was hacking forcefully down on the body of his serpentine lance.
‘Qiang!’
The lance, which was forged from refined steel, broke, while the Moon in the Well, scraping along the body of the lance, went straight toward the pit of Shen Mohuan’s stomach.
The saber technique was exquisite, it already reached the arhat realm.
‘Dang!’
Mu Ling’s cavalry sword slashed the Stealing the Heaven Sword, but she could only deflected the Stealing the Heaven Sword a little bit, it still heavily stabbed the pointy-leaf shield. This beautiful woman’s body, whose head was covered in iron helmet – shook severely, both the person and the horse were knocked aside by the sword power. But she was exceptional as well; both legs controlling the horse, she evaded diagonally, the trailing shield neutralized Ba Fenghan’s sword power. In the blink of an eye she flashed past Ba Fenghan and his horse.
Shen Mohuan, under Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong’s, two young martial art masters of the highest quality of grandmaster level, whose tacit understanding no third person could emulate – pincer attack, opened his mouth and spurted out blood. He made prompt decision, just before Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well’s snatching-soul strike arrived, his body left the horseback and sprang backward, while the remaining half of the serpentine lance left his hand and shot toward Kou Zhong, and then with a somersault he landed on a distant location.
Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, ‘What a pity!’
The brilliance of Shen Mohuan, husband and wife’s martial art skill was really greatly beyond the three men’s expectation. They staked everything and went all-out, yet they could only break Shen Mohuan’s lance and make him vomiting blood.
The Moon in the Well swept the broken lance away. The enemy riders came in large number.
Xu Ziling was well aware that if the enemies in front were able to delay them even for a moment, then they could forget about another chance in this lifetime to enter the forest. This moment, the enemy riders nearest to them from behind were no more than five hundred paces away. Once the enemy from the front and back closed in, it would be like a wheel rolling over a praying mantis, squeezing them into minced meat sauce.
With a loud shout, the mulberry wood bow in his hand deflected a long spear thrusting at him from straight ahead, his left hand performed the Treasured Vase Image, and hit the pit of the incoming enemy’s stomach. By the time the sand-bandit left the horseback and flew backward, he already urged his horse to charge into the middle of the enemy ranks.
They already had profound and ample experience in spearhead battle tactic. Xu Ziling became the sharp point of the triangular formation. Using the entire length of the mulberry wood bow, he parried the enemies’ weapon, while using the highly concentrated true power of the Treasured Vase Image of his left hand to send out strikes over empty air to repress the enemy. Although by doing this, the wear and tear to his true qi was extremely rapid, fortunately in term of strength, the enemies coming from the front were the weakest. Therefore, it could be said that it was another form of wear-and-tear battle, purely to see who would be able to stand until the last moment.
Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, one sword and one saber, protected Xu Ziling on the left and right wings, so that he could single-mindedly devote himself to deal with the enemy at the front without any distraction, charging into the enemy to break the siege.
From behind, the sound of hoof beats and battle cry was constantly approaching, yet they turned a deaf ear to it; even more, they did not have the time to pay attention to it.
Life or death would be decided in this blink of an eye moment.
Ba Fenghan unleashed the full capability of the Stealing the Heaven Sword. Since his mortal danger, escape alive moment relying on the Great Method of Exchanging the Sun, his sword technique, due to the transformation of his true qi, has evolved in a shedding one’s mortal body and exchanging one’s bones way into another kind of sword technique, that is, he could maintain his usual fierce, ruthless, crafty style, but it also became even more like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies, going or staying without any trace, speed contained within the slow, lifting heavy as if it were light, hidden within it the lord-overlooking-the-world air.
After each contact with the enemy’s weapon, his Stealing the Heaven Sword could still retain abundant power and generate another change. Even when it was impossible to take the enemy, its changes seemed to be endless and would not be exhausted forever, transcending the common limit; it indeed had a somewhat stealing-the-heaven-exchanging-the-sun taste.
On the surface it appeared that he was of one sword subduing the enemy, but the moves within it were profound, so abstruse to the point of beyond description.
Kou Zhong was still opening and closing wide, his overbearing presence was pressing, appearing to be clumsy but was actually ingenious; every saber chop, whether it struck the enemy’s weapon or the enemy’s shield, was infused with the Long Life Secret, the Jade Annulus of He Clan, and the Demonic Emperor Relics, the true qi of three major wonder powers, like flash flood breaking the dam, bursting out in vortex of energy, so that each chop resulting in either death or injury, sending the enemy off his horse.
The three men were of one heart, they all knew that they must not stop ever so slightly, hence each move they made was in full strength, holding nothing back, momentarily the enemy suffered a crushing defeat everywhere, those who tried to block were swept away.
Suddenly the pressure lightened, ahead the forest was back in sight, the situation became all the enemies were behind, the dead and wounded were all over the plains.
They no longer had the power to exert the man-and-horse-as-one technique, they relied entirely on the horses’ legs to try to escape toward the dense forest, which was still more than two hundred steps away.
Like wolves and tigers whose vicious nature had been aroused, the enemies rolled in like a tide, arrows and darts filled the air. The three were already blood-soaked, and could only stake everything in blocking the arrows and pulling the arrows.
If ahead was still flat plains extending as far as the eye can see, they would surely not able to hold out for half a li, and would die under the enemy’s random arrows.
Xu Ziling was the first to enter the forest. Kou Zhong let out a stifled grunt, his shoulder was hit by an arrow, fortunately his body immediately generated resisting power, so that the arrow only penetrated his flesh for half a cun and already unable to enter deeper, but his countenance was twisted in pain.
Not far away bugle horn sounded, followed by thunderous hoof beats shaking the entire battlefield.
Bielegunatai brothers’ reinforcement troops finally charged over. The three’s spirit was greatly aroused; it’s a pity that they had no strength left to turn around and force the enemy out of the forest, otherwise, for Shen Mohuan, husband and wife team of evil thieves, everything bodes ill, no positive signs [idiom: everything points to disaster].
A few breaths later, the three urged their horses to go deep into the dense forest, where the enemy arrows could no longer pose any threat to them.
Outside the forest, battle cry reached the heavens. Bielegunatai brothers certainly did not merely toot their horn; their five hundred men were enough to suppress the enemy’s army of one thousand. Very soon it was Shen Mohuan’s coalition army that was all split up and in pieces, utterly defeated.
Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling slowly recovered their qi, and turned around to charge and kill. Like cutting melon and chopping vegetables, coming across a man they killed the man, encountering an enemy they killed the enemy; the enemy troops were routed and running away in all directions, so that they did not know which one they ought to chase. In this moment of turmoil and chaos of war [orig. soldiers mutiny and troops rebel (idiom)], to find Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, would be as difficult as fishing a needle from the sea.
But in the end they crushed the three biggest forces that tried to prevent them from proceeding toward Longquan. A smooth road was opening before their eyes.
Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Bielegunatai, Bugunatai, sitting on horseback, standing on top of a high hill, looking far and near. Behind them were the woods and plains at the end of the hilly area. In front of them, to the east they saw green pastureland, studded with lakes and interweaved with streams. Under the slanting light of the setting sun, the open grassland looked desolate and vast, with no clear boundary; the scene was awe-inspiring.
After many days of pressing on and following their trail day and night, Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, along with about a dozen of their men accompanying them left and right, suddenly vanished into thin air, disappeared without any trace, not even leaving half a hoof print.
Two of Bielegunatai’s men, carrying two bundles of something, galloped up the hill to see them. Upon opening the bundles to take a look, unexpectedly they saw that the bundles contained Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling’s helmets and battle armors.
Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, “What kind of trick are they playing?”
Bielegunatai spoke heavily, “The sand-bandits two most famous skills are following a trail and hiding their trails. I am not surprise that we suddenly lost their track. What I am wondering is why they were leading us outside the hilly area, but also leaving material evidence that shows clearly that they are assuming different identity, and running away in the direction of Longquan.”
Letting out a cold snort, Bugunatai said, “It is clear that he is challenging us.”
Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “This is possibly just a troops deployed to mislead the enemy tactic. The fact is that they are not going to Longquan at all, but are escaping back to Gobi Desert. Ling Shao, what do you think?”
Xu Ziling carefully examined the helmet and the battle armor; he said, “Shen Mohuan’s eyes are very particular. I feel that he is not only cunning, his heart is brimming with hatred toward me even more, yet it was the first time that I met with him. This hatred might be greatly intensified because he suffered a crushing defeat this time, enough to make him disregarding everything to make reprisals. Perhaps in Longquan he will be able to find helpers to bite us back.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, “I am ninety-percent sure that it is Bai Ziting. Ha! If you don’t believe me, Xiaodi can bet a sheep with you.”
The crowd was amused.
That day, during the battle at dawn outside Hualin, Bielegunatai brothers and their Mongolian warriors launched a massacre toward the sand-bandits; the Qidan and Mohe people were routed and fled. For three consecutive day and night they thoroughly pressed on Shen Mohuan’s escaping sand-bandits. Finally the sand-bandits who were able to follow Shen Mohuan running away out of the hills area remained only a dozen men. The desperate situation of this pursuit battle could be easily imagined.
Ba Fenghan laughed and said, “Ling Shao’s conjecture is rarely wrong. What do we do now?”
Bielegunatai said, “Naturally several hundreds of us can’t set foot in Longquan. Didn’t three gentlemen have something called the Five-Colored Stone, which Bai Ziting could use to decorate the crown for his coronation? It would be better if you deliver the goods, while we will use our own way to mingle into the city. We’ll rendezvous inside the city, and then we’ll think of a way to dig them out.”
Kou Zhong laughed aloud and said, “This game is becoming more and more brilliant and interesting; Shen Mohuan, the Mad Monk, Bai Ziting, Five-Colored Stone, eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, all have been pulled together into this establishing the kingdom of Bohai nation that will happen in more than ten days. His granny!”
The last sentence was, naturally, spoken in Han language.
Bielegunatai cheerfully said, “To be able to fight shoulder to shoulder with three gentlemen is indeed a delight in life. Frankly speaking, we, two brothers, have always considered everyone else beneath us, but after being in contact with you, we cannot but admit that three gentlemen are certainly extraordinary men.”
Bugunatai spoke with wry smile, “In the future, if Shaoshuai obtains the world, we, brothers will definitely not invade the Central Plains; not only because we have all become brothers, but even more, there won’t be any chance of victory.”
Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, “Did you intend to invade the Central Plains?”
Ba Fenghan shouted loudly, “Shaoshuai definitely spoke nonsense. In the prairie, which tribe does not wish to enter and own the Central Plains? The problem is that to invade the Central Plains, the prerequisite is to unify the desert first. Only after there is no fears of trouble in the rear, one can turn his power to go down south.”
Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s scalp went numb. The various tribes of beyond the Great Wall, not only heroes come forth in large numbers, each division was a strong contingent. Elite troops like the Li Clan’s Tang Army greatly pale in comparison with them. They were like a pack of ferocious evil wolves or hungry lions, pacing back and forth outside the farm, waiting for the opportunity to pounce inside to devour the fatty meat, while the people inside the farm were still staking it all, you die, I live, fighting against each other, splitting up in disunity.
Bielegunatai continued, “As long as Xieli and Tuli continue to be divided and fight each other, the Tujue Wolf Army will be powerless to invade the south, and one day another grassland tribe will rise, towering as a peak, to replace them. It’s just like the change of the seasons.”
Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, “As long as Bi Xuan exists, Xieli and Tuli can only end in friendly relationship. The dispute between the two was because Xieli refused to see Tuli grows; even more, Tuli is standing in Li Shimin’s side. However, the defeat at the Rushing Wolf Plains had woken Xieli up; he knew that it would be difficult to put Tuli in order. Even if he managed to accomplish that, the Eastern Tujue will only ruin its own constitution, and won’t be able to subjugate other tribes and various ethnic groups. Under this kind of situation, if Bi Xuan is coming out to clear up the mess, who would dare not to look at his face?”
Within the Eastern Tujue, Bi Xuan was like a deity who received millions of warriors’ admiration and adoration, including Tuli’s generals and warriors.
The reason it was Bi Xuan who undertook the task to hunt and kill the three men was precisely to use this as a pretext to establish his might.
Bielegunatai could not help asking, “Did you really fight with Bi Xuan like the rumors say?”
Ba Fenghan took a deep breath. Casting his gaze toward the horizon at the end of the plains under the sunset glow covering the whole sky, he nodded and replied, “I did fight with Bi Xuan for the first time, and ended up suffering a crushing defeat.”
Bielegunatai brothers were emotionally moved. The latter said, “Bi Xuan shouldn’t show leniency toward Ba Xiong, plus it was more than an ordinary martial art competition, so how come Ba Xiong did not suffer the slightest injury?”
Kou Zhong answered on his behalf, “It was because we managed to rescue him from Bi Xuan’s hands in time.”
In a way, it was the truth, yet it was quite ingenious, so that other people would not think that before Bi Xuan had any chance to kill Ba Fenghan, they forced him to retreat, and practically Ba Fenghan was not injured at all.
Bugunatai sighed and said, “Even Xieli and Bi Xuan are unable to do anything to three gentlemen, who in the prairie might be able to deal with you?”
Xu Ziling said, “Is there any way we can sneak into Longquan with the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive?”
Bielegunatai replied, “We have our people doing business in Longquan, they can make arrangement for three gentlemen to enter the city. Longquan is the place in the prairie where Han language is widely used. However, three gentlemen’s shape and appearance are distinct; as soon as you show your face, others would immediately see through your identity.”
Kou Zhong carefully looked at Bielegunatai up and down; seeing this tough man was without malice, he laughed and said, “As long as there are appropriate materials, we could disguise ourselves as your Shiwei people; naturally you need to supply us clothes and equipment.”
Bugunatai cheerfully said, “As long as during the five-day journey from here to Longquan you don’t shave, let your hair loose on your shoulders, darken your face a bit, then you can become our horse dealer, driving a dozen or so Shiwei horses to Longquan to do business. I guarantee that no one will be suspicious.”
Bielegunatai said, “We still have to search Shen Mohuan everywhere, to see whether he is stealthily sneaking back into the west. But before the big ceremony of Bohai kingdom establishing their nation, we will definitely rush over to Longquan to meet with three gentlemen over there.”
Xu Ziling spoke with a wry smile, “We still have a big flaw, which is we don’t speak your Shiwei language. If we came across Shiwei people, won’t we reveal the cloven foot right away?”
Bugunatai said, “Each tribe of our Shiwei uses different language, hence we are accustomed to communicate with each other in Tujue language, so this is really not a problem. We are going to dispatch fast horse to notify our brothers in the city first, so that they can go out of the city to respectfully welcome your good-selves. Three gentlemen, please rest assured.”
Letting out a long laugh, Ba Fenghan said, “Thus one word and it’s settled. After a good night rest, we will go our separate ways, and then we’ll meet again in Longquan.”
The crowd chorused their agreement.
In the prairie, a place brimming with staunch men, heroes and towering figures, it was very easy to make mortal enemy, yet it was equally easy to make friends, to have familiarity at first sight, to treat one another with absolute sincerity.