The Road to Glory

Chapter 155 "Keep Searching!"

The carriage moved steadily along the official road as Wen Yu silently calculated the distance they had traveled since leaving the camp.

To prevent reinforcements from the garrison from catching up quickly, both the Liang Camp forces who had abducted her and Pei Song's men—who, upon receiving news, remained determined to kill her—would likely choose to strike far from the garrison.

By now, this Wei army seemed to have marched nearly thirty li. Logically, forces from either side should have made their move already.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, the carriage jolted violently.

Fortunately, Wen Yu had been prepared. One hand swiftly grasped the bronze handle fixed to the carriage wall for holding lanterns, while the other tightly protected the foot-long wooden box in her arms. Thanks to her quick reflexes, the contents inside did not tumble out like the piled-up chests and boxes rattling in the back.

Immediately after, both sides of the carriage walls resounded with a hailstorm-like "thud-thud-thud"—arrows striking with immense force, leaving sharp, protruding marks on the iron-reinforced walls.

Crossbow bolts shot through the wooden windows, unprotected by iron plates, embedded three inches deep into the carriage floor, their tails quivering relentlessly.

Wen Yu clenched her teeth, pressing her body tightly against the corner of the rear wall, also reinforced with iron, keeping away from the windows on either side damaged by the arrows.

Though she had anticipated that this escape would not be peaceful, the fact that Pei Song's men resorted to such lethal measures right from the start was undeniably a desperate, last-ditch move.

Her gaze sharp and resolute, having survived the previous ambush by the Hawk Hounds, Wen Yu remained remarkably calm in this situation.

Once the arrow rain ceased, she did not rush to the windows to assess the situation outside. Instead, she released her grip on the box, plucked a hairpin from her hair—its tip sharpened to a piercing edge—and concealed it within her sleeve.

Outside, chaos had erupted. She heard the neighing of warhorses, chaotic shouts of battle, and the clashing of weapons, as if multiple forces had tangled into a messy melee.

Yet, for some reason, there also seemed to be numerous panicked cries for help from ordinary civilians.

Wen Yu was puzzled. The official road this Wei army was traveling on was surrounded by desolate mountains and wilderness—how could there suddenly be so many civilians?

Amid the chaos, sharp bird calls rose one after another.

Only then did Wen Yu's taut nerves relax slightly.

The Azure Guard was here too!

Could Tong Que and Zhao Bai both still be alive?

At this thought, the palm holding the hairpin slowly grew damp with sweat.

Outside the carriage, Yuan Fang and Wei Ang were utterly overwhelmed. Their troops had collided with a mixed group of genuine and disguised refugees, making it impossible to distinguish real civilians from bandits posing as them.

Wei Ang cleaved a "refugee" charging at him with his blade. As he raised his sword to strike another, the man suddenly broke down in terrified pleas, claiming he was not an assassin but merely a refugee who had heard rumors of impending war and joined others fleeing alongside the army.

Nearby, other refugees screamed in panic, trying to flee, but Wei soldiers—unable to tell friend from foe—slashed one across the back.

Wei Ang roared, "Do not harm innocent civilians—"

Before his words faded, a limping refugee, seemingly also attempting to escape the battlefield, rushed toward Wei Ang in panic. Suddenly, the man dropped low and slashed at Wei Ang's calf, where no armor protected him.Wei Ang felt a sudden chill on his leg, and in an instant, blood soaked through his dark military trousers. Meeting the savage glare of the "refugee," he gritted out a curse through clenched teeth, "Damn your mother!" before cleanly severing the man's head with his blade.

Yuan Fang, atop his horse, brandished his long blade to prevent anyone from approaching the carriage. Though the carriage behind him was already riddled with arrows like a hedgehog—its iron-clad exterior densely studded with crossbow bolts, and the arrow-shattered window frame fallen away—there was no telling whether those inside were dead or alive.

Seeing Wei Ambushed and wounded, Yuan Fang gnashed his teeth in fury. After ordering a guard to check if Wen Yu in the carriage was still alive, he shouted hoarsely to Wei Ang, "Old Wei, how bad is it?"

Wei Ang’s calf had been deeply slashed, possibly severing tendons, forcing him to lean heavily against a toppled carriage, using his blade as a crutch. As he fended off advancing "refugees," he yelled back, "Damn it! These bandits are mixed in with the real refugees—impossible to tell them apart! The young master is still in the carriage. We must not let him be harmed! Old Yuan, take the carriage and go! I’ll cover the rear!"

After the initial volley of arrows, Yuan Fang had ordered his crossbowmen to retaliate against the armed refugees. But the vicious culprits quickly vanished among the genuine refugees, leaving only terrified elderly, women, and children clutching their belongings, staring helplessly at the cold glint of arrows on the crossbows. Yuan Fang ultimately could not bring himself to issue the order for indiscriminate slaughter.

The situation had reached a stalemate. He knew dragging this out was futile. Since the attackers were targeting the woman, he had to get her away to distinguish the bandits from the real refugees and prevent Wei Pingjin from being implicated.

To guard against abduction, they had prepared several identical iron-clad carriages for this journey.

Last time, when Liang Camp operatives posed as the righteous army, they avoided suspicion by not armoring the carriage exterior, allowing the Hawk Hounds to tear off the carriage walls with grappling hooks to search for their target.

Their military carriages, however, were reinforced by craftsmen with refined iron. Earlier, when the bandits’ grappling hooks struck, they failed to penetrate the iron plating, preventing them from ripping the walls open outright. That was why they switched to a barrage of arrows.

Fortunately, without personally verifying the carriage interior, the bandits had no idea who was inside or whether they were alive or dead.

This allowed them to split up and drive the carriages in different directions, drawing the attackers away.

Yuan Fang repelled several Hawk Hounds disguised as refugees, roared "Good!" and loudly ordered his officers to separately escort the several arrow-riddled empty carriages away.

The guard Yuan Fang had sent to check on Wen Yu opened the iron-reinforced wooden carriage door and glanced inside. Though the interior was in disarray with items scattered about, Wen Yu remained seated calmly in the corner, wrapped in her cape, her cold eyes clear and composed. Startled, he had no time to ponder her composure and simply turned to shout at Yuan Fang not far off, "General, she’s alive!"

Yuan Fang bellowed, "Drive the carriage away!"

The guard slammed the iron-clad door shut with a "bang," cracked his whip, and followed the lead carriages away from the chaotic battlefield.The carriage moved swiftly, jolting violently. Wen Yu's back slammed against the carriage wall several times due to the inertia. Fearing the Azure Guard might also be misled, she calmly brought her hand to her lips and blew a sharp whistle, just as Zhao Bai had taught her before.

Amid the chaos of battle cries and wails, hardly anyone noticed where the additional whistle sound came from.

Zhao Bai, disguised as a refugee while still engaged in combat with the Wei troops, was about to dispatch the Azure Guard to chase the carriage when her sharp ears caught the whistle. She immediately pinpointed the carriage carrying Wen Yu.

Tong Que was overjoyed upon hearing the whistle. After fending off a Hawk Hound disguised as a refugee, she pressed her back against Zhao Bai's and said, "It's the princess!"

This whistle was a unique signal of their Azure Guard, understood only by them in terms of pitch and duration.

However, Zhao Bai didn't immediately pursue the carriage, nor did she even glance at it. Her gaze fixed firmly on Pei Shiwu through the crowd.

Pei Shiwu clearly recognized her too, keeping an eye on her movements even as he fought.

Zhao Bai lowered her voice and said to Tong Que, "Take some people and split up to chase the princess, diverting the Hawk Hounds' attention. That lackey under Pei Song recognizes me. If I go personally, he'll definitely follow."

Tong Que had witnessed the terror of Pei Song's Hawk Hounds. Last time, she and Zhao Bai had narrowly escaped death, only regrouping with other Liang army units after receiving news and returning. They had been disguised as refugees, recuperating in nearby villages while gathering intelligence from the military camp.

If not for Wei Pingjin's cowardice—always traveling with over a hundred guards—and their fear of alerting the enemy and confirming Wen Yu's identity to the Wei camp, they would have directly kidnapped Wei Pingjin to exchange for Wei Qishan.

Today was the perfect opportunity to rescue Wen Yu, but Pei Song's men had once again intervened, even luring numerous refugees to serve as human shields. Their ruthless tactics clearly aimed to eliminate both Wen Yu and Wei Pingjin in one stroke.

Fortunately, the Wei camp had some sense, preparing multiple carriages and reinforcing the walls, making it difficult for the Hawk Hounds to identify which carriage carried Wen Yu or Wei Pingjin.

Without another word, Tong Que used the back of her blade to knock aside a Wei soldier, seized a warhorse, blew a whistle, and chased after the carriages.

Several Azure Guard members, hearing the whistle, immediately seized horses and followed.

True to form, Pei Shiwu kept a close watch on Zhao Bai's movements. Seeing her stay put, he remained as well, assuming Tong Que and the others were chasing the carriages as a precaution. He jerked his chin, signaling a group of Hawk Hounds to tail the Azure Guard.

Zhao Bai feigned ignorance, leading the remaining Azure Guard members in a relentless assault on the carriage most heavily guarded by Yuan Fang and his men. Their advance was unstoppable—slaying all who stood in their way.

When her gleaming blade struck the carriage window, splintering the iron-clad wooden frame, Wei Pingjin—cowering inside the carriage protected by several guards—had never seen such ferocity. He screamed, "Uncle Yuan! Uncle Ang! Save me!"

Zhao Bai didn't linger in the fight. After smashing the carriage window, she seemed only interested in identifying the occupant. Finding it wasn't her target, she charged toward another carriage that hadn't yet managed to flee.

However, her breach with the Azure Guard had exposed Wei Pingjin in the carriage to Pei Shiwu, who seized the opportunity without hesitation, leading the Hawk Hounds in a renewed assault.If Zhao Bai's earlier attack had merely been intended to intimidate, then Pei Shiwu truly wanted Wei Pingjin dead.

After several personal guards fell to the Hawk Hounds' treacherous blade techniques, Wei Pingjin nearly shouted himself hoarse.

Yuan Fang and Wei Ang were equally terrified, fearing something might happen to Wei Pingjin. They no longer cared about anything else and personally returned to guard the carriage.

Seeing the situation turning against him, Pei Shiwu tried to retreat, but Yuan Fang gave him no chance, trapping him tightly with a hundred elite soldiers.

After such a major blunder today, he would have to give Wei Qishan an explanation upon returning to Weizhou.

The refugees, deceived by the Hawk Hounds to serve as human shields, had either died or fled during the chaos. Those still within the military formation were mostly Pei soldiers disguised as refugees. The soldiers below no longer held back. To ensure the safety of this journey, they had brought three thousand troops, and as the situation stabilized, they gradually gained the upper hand.

Zhao Bai knew when to stop. After luring Pei Shiwu to assassinate Wei Pingjin, she withdrew with the Azure Guard and the Liang soldiers disguised as refugees, blending in with the fleeing crowd.

Faced with the intense fury in Pei Shiwu's eyes as he was surrounded and attacked, she merely cast a cold glance before turning her horse to chase after Wen Yu's carriage.

Xiao Li thrust his blade downward, and the Hawk Hound lying on the ground spat blood, lifeless.

On the door of the carriage parked by the roadside, a streak of blood was splattered. The Wei soldier who had been driving the carriage lay slumped across the shaft, his eyes still wide open.

After kicking aside the corpse of another Hawk Hound, Song Qin closed the eyes of the Wei soldier who had died at the hands of the Hawk Hounds and said, "This is the third carriage."

Xiao Li's aura had never been so ferocious. The veins on the back of his hand, gripping the blade, bulged prominently, his murderous intent so dense it seemed even the swirling snow avoided falling on him.

He sheathed his blade and mounted his horse, a black cloth covering the lower half of his face. The wolf-like eyes exposed above it were filled with resolve and ruthlessness. "Keep searching!"

At that moment, a signal flare exploded in the distance around the mountain bend.

They had seen this signal flare before—it was the one used by the Pei family's Hawk Hounds to alert each other upon discovering a target.

Song Qin's expression changed.

Almost the instant he saw the signal flare, Xiao Li dug his heels into his horse's sides and charged forward.

Song Qin hastily mounted his horse as well and shouted to the men below, "After them, quickly!"