Chapter 381: Like a Shadow
Xiao Beiheng had a nightmare that night. He not only dreamed of the people he had killed, but also dreamed of his disastrous defeat at the foot of Leshan, the black cavalry charging recklessly, and that he was taken to the Meridian Gate and beheaded.
When the executioner's sword fell on the back of his neck, he woke up in shock and suddenly sat up, grasping the Yanque sword.
It was still dark, and the house was silent. The white windows were blinding, and the charcoal brazier on the floor glowed red. Outside, it was silent, with only the whistling of the wind and the occasional snort of the black horse.
He first touched his forehead and wiped away the cold sweat on his hand. He turned to look at Su Mo, who was lying motionless with her back to him, as if she was fast asleep.
In the past, if he woke up with a start, Su Mo would always get up and comfort him. Now, he sat up with a start, but she was still sleeping.
However, Xiao Beiheng had no intention of caring about these trivial matters. He had more important things to do. At dawn, he reorganized his troops and marched eastward.
Leshan Commandery and Shengjing City were definitely out of the question. They had to avoid them and instead join forces with Anzhou Governor Su Han's army. Last night, messengers had already set out with his instructions, contacting the governors of Yuzhou and Jingzhou respectively. If things went well, they should have a report tonight.
Liangzhou Governor Liu Yi swore allegiance to Xiao Zhuo. He had no hope, but as long as the remaining two governors sent troops to help, he could still gather a large army.
He put on his armor, took the Yanque sword, carried the precious carved bow, slung his quiver over his shoulder, opened the door and left. As the worn wooden door slowly closed, Su Mo sat up and turned to look at the door, her eyes filled with pity and sadness.
She felt a mixture of love and hate for Xiao Beiheng. Love was obvious; he was the man she had pledged her life to. But she hated him for his perverse ways, his repeated actions that angered heaven and man, yet he never repented. His heart was cold and hard, like the Yanque sword he never left behind.
After staying still for a while, she sighed, got up and put on her clothes.
They had escaped in such a hurry that all the servants had remained in the camp below Leshan City. The empty house had no one to serve her. She didn't care, thinking as she dressed: After all, Xiao Beiheng had taken her with him, so he still had her in his heart.
After a night, the world outside had changed. All I could see was pure white snow. This whiteness obscured the tragedy of the previous night, as if nothing had happened. Some soldiers had already gotten up and were saddle-stitching their horses outside, while others were clearing the snow from their doorsteps.
Xiao Beiheng exhaled white air from his mouth and walked on the crackling snow towards a patrol team east of the village entrance, wanting to ask what happened last night.
After the defeat at Leshan, he was very worried about being pursued. He also arranged for soldiers to guard the area around Xuehe Village and patrols to patrol throughout the night.
As he approached the patrol, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
As the Son of Heaven, these soldiers were loyal followers of his, and would salute him from afar. Now he was less than ten feet away, but not a single person in the patrol team turned back to look at him. Instead, they seemed to be avoiding his gaze and hurried out of the village.
"Stop." Xiao Beiheng shouted to the patrol team, while taking off the precious carved bow and pulling out the golden arrow.
The patrol still did not answer, but they all stopped. The leading soldier held his bow, as if he could not decide whether to answer or continue walking.
Xiao Beiheng put an arrow on the string and said sternly: "Turn back immediately, otherwise I will..."
The leading soldier spun around, unleashing an arrow. Xiao Beiheng, a skilled archer, was prepared. He dodged the incoming arrow with a sidestep and unleashed his own, shooting like a meteor, striking the man squarely in the throat. The man's bow fell to the ground, and he took two steps back, clutching the arrow shaft with both hands, before collapsing in the snow.
Although it was still dark, the snow was bright. Xiao Beiheng recognized that the man's face was that of a Xirong person, and he couldn't help but be surprised.
This was the village patrol, disguised as a Xirong. That could only mean one thing: the Xirong had killed the scouts on guard outside the village. These Xirong disguised themselves as patrols so the village soldiers wouldn't be warned of the enemy's approach.
It was obvious that a large number of enemy troops were about to attack.
Only then did he realize that the few remaining Xirong people in the patrol had drawn their swords and were rushing towards him shouting.
Xiao Beiheng stepped back and shouted to warn, drew his bow and shot down two people first, then drew out Yan Que and killed two more people. The remaining Xirong people were surrounded and killed by the soldiers who rushed over after hearing the news.
Lin Kui heard the noise and rushed out of the house, holding a sword and approaching Xiao Beiheng. Seeing the Xirong people in the snow, he was shocked and asked, "Your Majesty, how did the Xirong spies sneak into the village?"
Xiao Beiheng sheathed the Yanque Sword and said, "Hurry, the enemy is coming. All soldiers, mount your horses."
The soldiers were just turning around to get their horses from under the sheds of their respective houses when they heard the sound of killing outside the village. Countless Xirong infantrymen emerged from the woods outside the village entrance, rushing over with swords raised.
Xiao Beiheng mounted his black horse and saw a large number of Western Rong soldiers coming towards him. The word "Qiang" was written on their flags. He recognized that they were Qiang Lin's troops and was frightened. He hurriedly ordered his Dingbei cavalry to engage in battle.
He expected that Xiao Zhuo would not let him go, but he did not expect Qiang Lin's pursuers to arrive so quickly.
The two sides fought a fierce battle at the entrance of Xuehe Village. The number of Xirong soldiers was more than 6,000, which was almost the same as that of Dingbei Army. However, they won by surprise attack. They besieged Dingbei Army on three sides, and arrows flew like locusts. The Dingbei Army soldiers could not withstand the attack and retreated into the village.
Seeing he couldn't hold out, Xiao Beiheng grew timid and quickly rode his horse towards the village's western exit. As he passed his house, Lin Kui had already escorted Su Mo out and shouted, "Your Majesty, the Empress is here."
Xiao Beiheng stopped his horse, bent down, put his arm around Su Mo's waist, pulled her onto the horse's back, and sat her in front of him.
Su Mo turned around and smiled at him.
Su Mo, who had been so cold and icy all night, suddenly smiled, which made Xiao Beiheng startled. But the situation was critical, so he didn't have time to think about the meaning of this smile. He said to Lin Kui, "Hurry up and get on the horses. Let's get out of here."
Lin Kui also mounted his horse and called on the soldiers to escort him along the way.
The Dingbei Army soldiers in the village also knew that they could not withstand the attack of the Xirong people, so they mounted their horses and followed Xiao Beiheng out of the village and continued to flee westward.
When the soldiers who were fighting with the Xirong army saw their commander flee, they immediately lost their will to fight, their formation collapsed, and they were unable to mount their horses and escape. Some died, and some surrendered.
After the battle, Qiang Lin led a cavalry with a large number of war horses into Xuehe Village.
He was able to catch up with Xiao Beiheng's cavalry thanks to these warhorses. During the battle, he had only let his soldiers fight on foot, for fear of losing warhorses. Now that the battle had stopped, he redistributed the warhorses to the soldiers who had just fought, and sent some soldiers to escort the surrendered Dingbei soldiers back.
Hu Gubie was also in the team and asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, there are only a few thousand surrendered soldiers. It's freezing cold, and they would be a burden to bring along. Why don't we kill them right here and then we can go after Xiao Beiheng with all our strength?"
Qiang Lin circled his horse and turned back, saying coldly, "Princess An doesn't like to kill surrendered soldiers. If they are harmed, she will be angry. You take the prisoners to Leshan and hand them over to Prince An's army to decide their fate. I will go after Xiao Beiheng myself."
A Xirong soldier came over and said, "Your Majesty, all the villagers in this village have been killed, and their bodies are piled up in the village ancestral hall. The wounds look like they were inflicted last night."
Qiang Lin said, "Since the village is already deserted, there's no harm in occupying it. Let the soldiers rest inside first. Also, send someone to inform the Queen of Xiliang of what has happened here to avoid any misunderstandings."
Hu Gubie asked the captains to arrange for the soldiers to clean up the battlefield and move into the village. He went with Qiang Lin and said, "Your Majesty, Xiao Beiheng just escaped. If we chase him now, we will definitely catch up."
Qiang Lin dismounted in front of a courtyard and said:
"Last night the entire army marched through the snow. We were cold and hungry, and we also fought a battle. It's not too late to rest first and then chase him. Even if Xiao Beiheng escapes to the ends of the earth, I can find him."
Hu Gubie also knew that his king was one of the best trackers in the Xirong tribe. When he was the leader of the secret guards for Shen Yuexi, he had demonstrated his superb tracking skills many times, so he was no longer worried.
To these soldiers, the enemies of King Qianglin were their enemies. They followed King Qianglin tirelessly just to help him avenge his grievances, not to mention the humiliation of their defeat at Baixiushan.
No matter where Xiao Beiheng escapes to, Qiang Lin will follow him like a shadow until he catches up with him.
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