Chapter Forty-Five: Breaking Through Weihu Pass (Part One)

Ziyin, Brother Zuo, keep your guard up here. I’ll go investigate.

With a few swift leaps, Lin Feng vanished down the winding village path. A shadow passed by; Black Mane followed silently after him.

The stench was unbearable, almost suffocating. Lin Feng held his breath, his face grim. He knew that not a single soul in this village was likely left alive.

“Over here, brother!” Black Mane darted past him, swift as an arrow.

They rushed along the earthen path for a hundred paces, arriving at the village square, where corpses lay sprawled in every direction, blackened and ravaged by swarms of maggots and flies. The bellies of the crows were grotesquely swollen; even at the sight of humans, they could barely take flight, cawing frantically as they scrambled for escape.

“What a tragedy…” A sigh sounded nearby. At some point, Che Zhonglou’s imposing figure had appeared.

Lin Feng was not surprised by his arrival; their wager was still ongoing, and with the old man’s temperament and means, it would be strange if he didn’t follow quietly.

None of the villagers had died whole; most had been decapitated or cleaved in half. Among the bodies were many elders and children—such cruelty was beyond comprehension.

“The air reeks of violence. Old Che, do a good deed and help them pass on.” Che Zhonglou sighed, and with a sweep of his wide sleeves, the mountain of corpses was engulfed in fierce flames.

“Black Mane, let’s go!” Lin Feng glanced at Che Zhonglou and swiftly departed. He had noticed something peculiar: among the dead, few were young women. The only possible explanation was that all the women had been abducted by the killer. Who could have done such a thing? Bandits? Horse thieves? The thoughts churned in his mind.

At the village entrance, he found a stone stele that had been deliberately destroyed. Piecing it together, he read the name of the village: Fragrant Rice Village.

Ziyin and the others grew anxious waiting in the grain drying yard. Suddenly, flames erupted into the sky; their faces changed dramatically. “Uncle Zuo, quickly see if Brother Lin is in trouble!” Ye Ziyin cried out in panic, pale-faced.

“You two stay here to watch the young master. If I don’t return within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, flee down the path at once!” Zuo Qingcheng drew his blade and strode toward the village.

He had barely gone a hundred paces when Lin Feng approached, and relief washed over him. “Brother Lin, what’s with the fire?”

“Let’s talk as we walk. We can’t stay here.” Lin Feng glanced back; the village was ablaze, the smell of burning flesh wafting on the heat.

After regrouping, Lin Feng explained what he’d discovered, and anger flared in each of them.

Zuo Qingcheng frowned in thought. “If I recall correctly, a hundred miles ahead is the border garrison of the Great Qian Kingdom. With such a calamity, we should avoid the main road, lest we be detained.”

Lin Feng nodded. “Agreed. We must leave Great Qian through the side paths at once.”

They climbed into the carriage, ready to head out, when Che Zhonglou swept over like a whirlwind, shouting, “Wait for me!”

The three exchanged sour looks; Lin Feng was silent, and Ye Ziyin bowed and asked respectfully, “Sir, we are bound for Autumn Pool. Do you have business with us?”

Che Zhonglou laughed heartily, settling in. “I happen to have a friend in Autumn Pool whom I haven’t seen in years. I’ll pay him a visit while I’m at it. Surely you don’t mind me tagging along?”

Ye Ziyin smiled slightly. “How could we dare refuse? Please join us on the road.”

Lin Feng chuckled inwardly at the old man’s persistence—was a wager worth all this trouble? Zuo Qingcheng snorted, rummaged for wine and meat, and feasted with Black Mane. Liu Yun drove the cart; with another passenger, the two horses grew lazy and unruly. Frustrated, the young man snapped his whip, venting his anger on the beasts.

“Ha, it’s been ages since I rode in a carriage. Not bad at all!” Che Zhonglou laughed, squeezing next to Lin Feng. The cramped open cart was crowded with five people, a wolf, and two bundles of firewood, making it almost unbearably stuffed.

“Go!” The carriage rolled onto the main road, but quickly turned onto a bumpy track, jostling violently as they sped toward the border. Beyond Great Qian’s frontier lay Mengliang territory, where caution was more crucial.

Che Zhonglou was a fountain of stories, spinning strange and quirky tales to coax Lin Feng into conversation. After a while, only Ye Ziyin occasionally responded; the others listened in silence. Finding his audience uninterested, the old man stopped talking, focusing on drinking and humming tunes, much to everyone’s annoyance.

After a hundred miles, a roadblock appeared ahead—a checkpoint with several soldiers in Great Qian uniforms, armed and on guard.

“Liao Kai, go see if you can get us through,” Zuo Qingcheng whispered, making a subtle gesture. Everyone hid their weapons among the firewood, feigning nonchalance. Only Che Zhonglou brazenly gnawed a chicken leg and guzzled wine.

The carriage halted at the checkpoint. A dark-faced officer and two sentries approached. Lin Feng noticed a dozen guards near the sentry hut. Though they acted casual, their glances were sharp and alert—two in particular made Lin Feng uneasy.

Experts! These men were no ordinary soldiers; at least Zuo Qingcheng’s level. Were they not soldiers at all? Did they have ulterior motives? Lin Feng readied himself, hand poised by his side, ready to draw his pear blossom spear from the firewood at the slightest sign.

“Who are you? Where are you from, and where are you headed?” the officer demanded.

Liao Kai grinned obsequiously. “Sir, our young master is returning from Autumn Pool to visit his ailing mother. She is now well, and he must urgently return to manage affairs. Please let us pass. Here’s a little something for you to buy some wine…”

He slipped a few silver fragments to the officer, bowing and scraping.

“Hmm! Not much, but enough for a drink. Let them through!” The officer weighed the silver and waved to his men.

Everyone sighed with relief. Liao Kai thanked them, walking toward the cart, and Ye Ziyin and the others nodded in thanks from afar. The whip cracked lightly, and the carriage moved toward the checkpoint.

Lin Feng withdrew his hand, exhaling quietly. He glanced back and his face suddenly changed—the officer’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

“It’s a trap!” Lin Feng shouted, drawing his pear blossom spear and darting to the front.

“Pop—” Two armored soldiers rushing forward were skewered in a single thrust; blood sprayed over their comrades.

“Crack!” Lin Feng kicked another soldier’s head, splitting it open in one blow.

“Boom!” Using the momentum, he swept his spear sideways, sending waves of force surging forth. With a hidden surge of Tyrant’s Strength, the spear felled all but two, who were the most skilled. Even they were bleeding from the mouth, terror in their eyes.

In just a few breaths, nearly all the Great Qian soldiers lay dead, powerless to resist. The gap between cultivators and warriors was obvious.

The officer hadn’t even drawn his sword before Zuo Qingcheng sliced his head off.

“Speak! Who are you? Why ambush us here? Who sent you?” Lin Feng demanded, spear at the throat of a thin man.

“Why bother? Kill them all!” Zuo Qingcheng strode over, his blade dripping blood.

The two exchanged a glance. The bearded soldier with a fierce scar on his left cheek sneered, “You dare kill Great Qian soldiers? You’ll never get through Tiger Guard Pass! No matter—since you’re suspicious and claim to be from Autumn Pool, we had orders to kill all such travelers. We’re the soldiers of General Mu’s Thirteenth Battalion, sent here to ambush suspicious persons. If you reach Tiger Guard Pass, how can we answer to the general?”

The blunt answer surprised Lin Feng and the others, who had expected to use some persuasion.

“Has Great Qian allied with Mengliang? Surely this isn’t just an ordinary ambush?” Lin Feng’s gaze chilled. “Was it you who slaughtered Fragrant Rice Village? What else do you know—speak!”

With blades at their throats and their swords confiscated, the two were separated and held.

“I’ll talk! Just don’t kill me!” The thin man, terrified by Lin Feng’s spear, begged for mercy, wiping cold sweat from his brow. “We did kill the villagers. The general ordered it, and we didn’t dare refuse. As for the women, we didn’t touch them—they were given as gifts to the envoy from Zhaowu Duke. Yesterday, the general ordered all travelers headed for Autumn Pool, except officials and soldiers, to be executed on the spot. We were just following orders. Now we’re at your mercy; I beg for my life.”

“Zhaowu Duke? Who is he?” Lin Feng demanded.

“So it’s him! That scoundrel covets Autumn Pool, and now conspires with Great Qian. No wonder he urged the monarch to wage war with Mengliang. Truly treacherous!” Zuo Qingcheng cursed.

Ye Ziyin stepped down from the carriage, his tone calm. “Zhaowu Duke is my elder brother, Crown Prince Ye Qiuping.”

“You—you’re Young Master Ziyin!” The scarred soldier stared at Ye Ziyin in shock.

“Enough interruptions. Tell me, where’s the hidden path through Tiger Guard Pass? Don’t tell me you don’t know, or my blade will show no mercy!” Zuo Qingcheng threatened.

“Spare me! There’s only one road through Tiger Guard Pass, always has been. If you avoid the pass, you’ll have to circle hundreds of miles through the mountains and cross the raging Sands River—there’s simply no way.”

Zuo Qingcheng looked to Lin Feng and Ye Ziyin. “Young master, Brother Lin—what now? With the army guarding the pass, how can we get through?”

Lin Feng and Ye Ziyin exchanged a glance, silent in thought. At that moment, Che Zhonglou, who had been drinking calmly all along, laughed aloud. “A tiny cave like Tiger Guard Pass? If old Che feels like it, you’ll cross the mountains in the blink of an eye.”