Chapter 241
"Fine, this Marquis demands that your consort..."
Nearly two hours had passed since the messenger left camp without any reply. Instead, a scout from the Wolf Cavalry brought back new information: "My lord, that Western Mausoleum Army continues marching toward Tiger Gorge Pass!"
Xiao Li, who had been standing with crossed arms under the tree shade, opened his eyes and looked at Niru, who lay bound and exposed to the scorching sun on the sandy ground.
Baked until his lips cracked, Niru had likely figured out the situation. Though seething with hatred internally, he maintained a facade of indifference and laughed mockingly: "What did I tell you earlier?"
He licked his parched, pale lips and shouted at Xiao Li: "Make it quick! Give me a clean death!"
The Western Mausoleum generals, who had been ordered to halt beyond arrow range, anxiously cried out: "No! Absolutely not!"
One young Western Mausoleum officer even began backing away while speaking, leading his horse as he said: "This humble general will personally pursue the consort's party to report this matter!"
Xiao Li glanced at the sun's position and coldly declared: "All of you, withdraw fifty li."
The distant Western Mausoleum generals exchanged uncertain glances, none daring to respond.
Xiao Li slightly lifted his chin, and immediately two guards stepped forward to haul up the sun-baked Niru from the sand, pressing blades against his neck where a patch of flesh had previously been sliced off.
The sun-dried wound screamed under the blade's pressure. Though Niru gritted his teeth without uttering a sound, his face contorted with pain.
Xiao Li stared at the hesitant Western Mausoleum generals: "If you don't want your general to lose another piece of flesh, do as I say."
Not daring to test his resolve, the Western Mausoleum generals exchanged looks before finally giving the order: "Retreat fifty li!"
As the Western Mausoleum army broke camp to withdraw, the generals and their guards repeatedly glanced back while retreating.
Xiao Li ignored them completely, placing his index finger to his lips and emitting a sharp whistle. His horse, chewing dry grass in the distance, immediately galloped over.
Xiao Li grabbed the saddle and swung onto the horse, commanding: "Bring him along! We're pursuing Pei Song!"
The Wolf Cavalry instantly understood his intention.
Having the Western Mausoleum forces intercept Pei Song would waste unknown amounts of time with back-and-forth communication. Moreover, if Pei Song had resolved to disregard Niru's survival, sending messengers would be futile.
It was better to take Niru themselves and personally intercept the main force accompanying Pei Song.
Among the accompanying Western Mausoleum officers, there would surely be those who recognized Niru.
During these days of harassing and delaying the thirty-thousand-strong Western Mausoleum Army, Xiao Li had already ordered investigations into their commanding generals. Niru was a key Western Mausoleum general and a close confidant of Princess He Yi.
That He Yi had him lead troops in accompaniment clearly indicated she hadn't fully trusted Pei Song yet. Xiao Li's earlier bluff to the young Western Mausoleum officer about information concerning Pei Song had made the officer immediately guarded and cease questioning, confirming this point.
Pei Song hadn't been with the Western Mausoleum Army long enough to command absolute loyalty from all its soldiers.
The group hauled the tightly bound Niru onto warhorses captured from the Western Mausoleum forces and galloped away.
After covering some distance, a Wolf Cavalry soldier noticed movement behind them and rode up to Xiao Li: "My lord, Western Mausoleum scouts are following behind. Should we eliminate them?"
Xiao Li glanced back while maintaining speed: "No need to bother."Niru had been captured alive, so the junior officers beneath him naturally couldn't simply abandon him after being ordered to retreat fifty li.
Xiao Li had them withdraw to ensure that when he brought Niru to catch up with Pei Song's Western Mausoleum Army, the Wolf Cavalry wouldn't be caught in a pincer attack.
With this delay of several dozen li, even if the Western Mausoleum Army learned of their movements through scouts in time, it would be too late for them to encircle them.
By noon, the sun grew increasingly scorching. Among the Western Mausoleum infantry escorting the supplies, even some soldiers had fainted from the heat.
Their comrades, exhausted from the high temperatures and prolonged march, hurriedly called out upon seeing their fellow soldier collapse: "General! General! Someone has fainted from the heat!"
The junior officer leading the squad, though clad in armor, was also drenched in sweat. He rode over and barked: "Give him some water!"
The soldiers below took out their water pouches to feed the fainted soldier, but even after turning the entire leather pouch upside down, only a few drops trickled out. The soldier licked his cracked, peeling lips and said, "General, we've run out of water too."
The junior officer glanced at the soldiers who were barely standing upright by leaning on their spears. He hesitated for a moment before tearing off his own half-empty water pouch from his saddle and tossing it to the soldier. Turning his horse around, he shouted, "I'll report this to the Imperial Consort!"
The soldiers, who had been marching under the blazing sun for hours, finally saw a glimmer of hope, their faces lighting up with anticipation.
"...Ahead lies Moonlight Beach, with a water source and a small oasis. If the army can reach it by evening, we can camp there tonight," the Hawk Hound said, holding a map as he rode alongside Pei Song, showing him the chart.
The sunlight beat down on the endless desert, turning the surroundings into a blinding, shimmering expanse of heat haze. Pei Song narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "How far is Wusei City from there?"
The Hawk Hound glanced at the map and replied, "We need to march another thirty li north."
Pei Song, holding the reins, made a decision on the spot: "Full-speed march. We'll rest at Wusei City tonight."
The Hawk Hound seemed to want to say something after looking at the map but ultimately swallowed his words. He turned and ordered, "Pass the command: full-speed march. We rest at Wusei City tonight!"
The messengers were about to gallop back to relay the order when the junior officer from earlier caught up on horseback, pleading earnestly: "Imperial Consort, let the troops rest here for a while. The soldiers have been marching for hours, their water pouches are empty, and they simply can't go on. Some have already collapsed from heatstroke!"
Pei Song glanced sidelong at the Western Mausoleum junior officer and said indifferently, "Who will take responsibility for delaying the march and missing the critical moment?"
Under Pei Song's gaze, the junior officer placed his left arm across his chest on horseback, seething with anger but not daring to speak out. Just as he was about to leave in despair, a voice rang out from behind: "This general will take responsibility!"
The junior officer turned and saw it was Deputy General Nugeer, overjoyed: "General!"
Nugeer made a gesture, signaling the junior officer to return. Staring at Pei Song, he spoke to the junior officer: "Order the three armies to rest here!"
The junior officer immediately prepared to ride off but was blocked by the Hawk Hound from behind.
Nugeer remained unmoved, but the personal guards and trusted junior officers who had come with him also rode forward, confronting the Hawk Hounds.Pei Song narrowed his eyes on horseback and said lightly, "The deputy general repeatedly obstructs our march, attempting to sabotage the princess's grand plan. This truly makes me, the imperial son-in-law, question your intentions!"
Nugeer shouted, "Clearly, it is you who disregards the lives of our Western Mausoleum warriors for your own selfish desires!"
"Oh? What selfish desires do I have?"
Pei Song looked leisurely at Nugeer, his tone still relaxed: "Is it selfish to follow the princess's orders to attack Tiger Gorge Pass? Or is it selfish to obey General Niru's command to march at full speed and reach Tiger Gorge Pass before the traitor Xiao?"
Nugeer was not skilled in verbal disputes and was once again left red-faced and speechless by Pei Song. He angrily retorted, "You ignored General Niru's call for reinforcements..."
"Dare I ask, deputy general, how can a thousand troops defeat General Niru's fifteen thousand? In your eyes, is General Niru nothing but a reckless brute?" Pei Song's narrowed eyes grew even more slender.
Before the two opposing forces could determine a victor, a scout rushed from the rear to report: "Report—a troop of our cavalry has appeared five li away!"
Nugeer immediately shouted, "It must be sent by General Niru! Follow me to see what is happening!"
As he prepared to lead his men away, Pei Song's voice came from behind: "Wait."
When Nugeer turned back, suppressing his anger, Pei Song said unhurriedly, "The deputy general is too anxious and may fall into a trap. I, the imperial son-in-law, will accompany you to investigate."
Since the scout reported that the cavalry troop numbered only a thousand, Pei Song and his men selected only five thousand elite riders to advance, leaving the main army behind on standby.
When the two forces faced each other across a distance of two arrow shots, Nugeer signaled his flag officer to send a flag message.
Unexpectedly, the opposing cavalry did not respond with a flag message. Instead, they brought a bound man to the front of their formation and shouted in the Western Mausoleum language: "Your commander is here! Withdraw your troops and return to Western Mausoleum at once!"
Nugeer was horrified to see Niru bound at the front: "It's General Niru!"
The junior officers accompanying him also paled in shock. Only Pei Song narrowed his eyes again, his entire demeanor turning cold and grim.
His gaze fixed not on Niru, but on a man dressed in tattered Western Mausoleum soldier attire who still exuded an overwhelming presence—Xiao Li.
He had nearly lost his life to this man, and everything he had painstakingly built had been destroyed by him in alliance with that woman from Liang.
For the first time in a long while, Pei Song felt the tearing emotion known as hatred stirring within him.
His hatred for the man across from him was no less than the hatred he had felt for the Wen Shi dynasty when his entire Qin clan was wrongly imprisoned years ago.
While Nugeer shouted for Niru's release, Pei Song seized the moment to glance back at his Hawk Hound and exchange a meaningful look.
Under the blinding white sunlight, faced with the chaotic shouts from the Western Mausoleum side, Xiao Li sat tall on his horse and coldly repeated two words before his patience ran out: "Withdraw!"
Before Nugeer could shout again, Pei Song stopped him. Meeting Nugeer's furious glare, he suddenly spoke with unusual patience: "Even if we report to the princess, withdrawal is impossible. If you wish to save General Niru, deputy general, why not let them propose other terms?"
Nugeer understood all too well. As he shouted again, Xiao Li also noticed Pei Song, who was offering the advice.For a moment he seemed to smile, his fingers tightening violently on the reins. After Nugeer proposed alternative terms, he replied with icy ferocity: "Very well! Then this Marquis demands your consort's head upon a platter!"
The situation instantly reached another impasse.
Exchanging Pei Song for Niru was something Nugeer privately desired. Yet their assault on Tiger Gorge Pass still required Pei Song's internal assistance. Should Pei Song die, they would lose their insider support within the pass.
Pei Song knew exactly what his greatest bargaining chip was. Gazing ahead, he smiled faintly at Nugeer: "General should consider carefully. With Niru dead, his position will be yours after we capture Tiger Gorge Pass. With such merit of breaching Great Liang's gateway, even the Princess wouldn't blame you excessively."
His tone then shifted: "But if Song dies, the General loses the key to breaching Tiger Gorge Pass. When the Princess demands accountability, does the General believe General Niru would shoulder all blame at court to protect you, out of gratitude for today?"
He regarded Nugeer with utmost gentleness: "The General didn't withdraw troops alone after our disagreement earlier. Isn't that because we share the same intentions?"
Nugeer's face had long shed its previous hostility, now revealing guilty panic and fury as if his secret thoughts had been exposed.
But Pei Song continued smiling gently: "Song can assume full responsibility for General Niru's death before the Princess."
Nugeer slowly turned his gaze across the field, his eyes turning ruthless as if reaching some decision. He roared: "The Niru they hold is an impostor! How dare they deceive this General with such tricks! Loose arrows! Kill them all!"
Junior officers who recognized Niru exchanged uncertain glances, but with Nugeer's order given, they instantly understood this was about choosing sides.
Niru, bound before the Wolf Cavalry formation, had clearly become the defeated party.
Pei Song watched Xiao Li from afar, a smile playing on his lips: "Liang Territory scum - eliminate them!"
His Hawk Hounds charged first. The Western Mausoleum junior officers made their choice in that moment, spurring their horses with battle cries as cavalry surged forward.
Bound before the formation, Niru witnessed his own downfall firsthand. Though resolved to die, he couldn't help spitting: "Son of a bitch!"
The Wolf Cavalry hadn't expected these Western Mausoleum troops to disavow their commander. They urgently looked to Xiao Li: "My Lord?"
Xiao Li's gaze remained locked on Pei Song across the field, murderous aura swirling around him like palpable frost.
He commanded: "Retreat!"
Yet he himself dug his heels sharply, charging forth on horseback - appearing determined to take Pei Song's head before ten thousand troops!
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