xymnovel Chapter 20 Beheading
Chapter 20 Beheading
Before dawn, Shen Bai and Lao Gui returned.
Old Gui walked ahead, his steps as light as a cat's. Shen Bai followed behind, entering the camp gate one after the other. The torches in the camp had been extinguished, with only a sliver of gray-white light visible on the eastern horizon.
Shen Bai's face was covered in mud. His clothes were half-soaked, the cuffs were torn, revealing a fresh bloodstain on his wrist.
The iron shield came forward.
"How's the injury?"
"A superficial wound." Shen Bai took off his coat and tossed it to him. "Call him Lin Yu."
---
Old Ghost squatted on the ground, drawing pictures with a twig.
The three lines represent three bandit hideouts.
"First location, twenty people." Old Ghost drew a circle on the ground. "A dilapidated temple, the walls are low, you can easily climb over in one step."
"Second location, fifteen people. Another circle. "A cave, on a cliff face, difficult to attack."
"The third location," Old Ghost stopped, "forty-three people."
He looked up at Shen Bai.
"The weapon is wrong."
Shen Bai remained silent.
"The sword was made by the government. The iron spear had a sharpened tip. There were also three standard crossbows."
Old Ghost's voice was low, like a stone grinding on sand.
"Bandits shouldn't have this kind of equipment."
Lin Yu stood to the side, listening, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Who gave it to you?"
Old Ghost shook his head.
"I don't know. But those who can get their hands on government-made weapons are no ordinary people."
Shen Bai looked at the circle on the ground.
The third location. Thirty li from the camp. At the border of two counties, far from the reach of the emperor.
"Would anyone in that village know about the 'tribute money'?"
Old Ghost remained silent for a while.
"The bandit leader's surname is Wu, and his name is Wu San," he said. "You'll find out when you go and catch him."
"Can you capture them alive?"
Old Ghost looked at Shen Bai.
"able."
---
That evening, Shen Bai gathered the ten eroded bodies together.
In a corner of the camp, in the center of an open space, ten people stood in a row. Moonlight shone down, illuminating their faces. Young faces, thin, but their eyes were all the same—empty.
Shen Bai stood in front of them.
Lin Yu stood to the side, holding a silver spear in his hand, the tip of which gleamed in the moonlight.
"Come with me."
Shen Bai turned around and walked out of the camp.
No one asked where they were going. No one asked what they were doing. Ten people followed, their steps light, maintaining a neat formation.
Old Ghost walked at the very back, bringing up the rear.
---
The third bandit stronghold was located on the mountainside.
It's not high, but the path is difficult to walk. It's a narrow, winding path with cliffs on both sides; one wrong step and you could tumble down half a mile.
Shen Bai walked at the front, his steps steady.
He stopped halfway up the mountain and raised his hand.
The ten people behind stopped at the same time.
No one asked why. No one spoke.
Shen Bai squatted down and touched the ground with his hand.
The soil is loose.
There are footprints.
new.
He stood up and pointed to his left.
Old Ghost nodded and silently crept over.
Three breaths later, a muffled thud echoed along the mountain path.
And that was it.
Shen Bai continued walking upwards.
---
At the entrance to the village, two sentries were dozing on a rock.
The knife was on his lap, his head was tilted to the side, and he was snoring.
Shen Bai made a gesture.
The two corrosive bodies touched it silently.
We arrived.
A knife.
One collapsed first, its throat slit, unable to utter a sound. The other had just opened its eyes and mouth when it was covered, then felt a chill on its neck and collapsed as well.
Clean.
Even the scream that he didn't have time to let out was stuck in his throat.
Shen Bai stepped into the village gate.
---
The village is more lively than the outside.
Some people were gambling, some were drinking, and some were chasing a disheveled woman. No one noticed the commotion at the door.
Shen Bai went inside.
Nobody was looking at him.
He walked to the center of the crowd and stopped.
Then he reached out his hand.
A flash of silver light.
It was short and bright, shooting out of his palm and across the gambling table.
The gambling table exploded.
Coins were scattered everywhere.
Everyone was stunned.
Then--
Shen Bai moved.
---
He didn't speak.
He just kept walking forward.
A streak of silver light with every step.
The first bandit to pounce was struck across the neck by a flash of silver light and fell to the ground.
The second man raised his knife, but before it could fall, he was sent flying, a gaping hole in his chest.
He turned around a third time and tried to run away.
Shen Bai raised his hand.
The silver light passed through the man's back and emerged from his chest.
No one could get within three steps of Shen Bai.
But there were many bandits.
People started to surround them, brandishing knives and sticks, and charged upwards.
Just then—
An arrow struck the arm of one of the victims.
The arrow came from the side. The creature let out a muffled groan and paused for a moment.
But he didn't stop.
He gritted his teeth and pulled out the arrowhead with his other hand; the arrowhead, stained with blood, flashed in the moonlight.
Then he continued to flush.
He raised the knife and slashed forward.
He chopped the bandit down with one stroke.
Then he touched the blood on his arm, glanced at it, and continued to flush it in.
---
Shen Bai took a step back.
Ten eroded bodies rushed out from the shadows.
They didn't speak or shout, they just rushed.
Sword flashes, blood splatters, and people fall.
soon.
Old Ghost's knife is the fastest. The moment it's drawn, someone falls. Every strike is deadly.
Lin Yu's gun followed behind.
But this time, he didn't poke it flat.
The silver spear flashed through the air, and Lin Yu's palm lit up.
A pale silver light streamed down his wrist and into the gun. The tip of the gun trembled and glowed, like a red-hot iron bar.
He drew his gun.
It's not a tap—it's a scan.
The tip of the spear traced a silver arc, bursting forth with light, like a line cutting through the air.
The first bandit's neck was slashed open, and blood spurted out, splashing onto the silver spear with a hissing sound.
The second bandit's chest was pierced, and the spearhead protruded from his back, dripping with blood.
Lin Yu pulled out the gun, and blood flowed down the gun barrel.
The silver light was still dancing on the tip of the spear.
He walked forward.
One step, another step.
The silver light on the spearhead, like a snake coiled around the spearhead, flickered on and off.
He saw the third bandit.
The man raised his knife and slashed upwards.
Lin Yu did not dodge.
He raised his gun, the tip meeting the attack.
A flash of silver light shot out from the tip of the spear and collided with the man's knife.
Click.
Light shone everywhere.
The man was knocked back three steps, and the knife in his hand flew out and stuck in the ground three zhang away.
Lin Yu took a step forward, pressing the tip of his gun against the man's throat.
"Kneel down."
The man was stunned.
Then he knelt down.
---
Five breaths later, no one was left standing in the village.
Shen Bai stood in the center of the crowd, looking down at the corpses on the ground.
There's no one here.
The last one—
"Keep one."
---
Wu San was tied to a pillar.
His face was covered in blood, it was impossible to tell if it was his own or someone else's. His chest was heaving, but he was still breathing.
Shen Bai squatted down to be at eye level with him.
"Whom should the filial piety gift be given to?"
Wu San's eyes were trembling.
He looked at Shen Bai, at the people standing behind him, and at the still-dripping knives.
"I--"
"A filial piety gift," Shen Bai repeated, "ten taels per month. For whom?"
Wu San's lips were moving.
His eyes darted around, as if he was wondering if he could hold on.
Shen Bai stood up.
He didn't speak.
He simply rolled up his sleeves.
The old ghost saw it.
That hand—it was black. Not grayish-white, but black. Like it had been burned, like a piece of scorched iron.
Old Ghost's eyes flickered.
He recalled ten years ago.
He had seen this hand before.
He had seen people with these hands before.
In the end, they all became—
He didn't think any further.
---
"Wang Dechang, Wang Dechang of the Ministry of War."
Wu San panicked when he saw Shen Baishou and quickly spoke up.
Shen Bai put his hand back into his sleeve.
"Anything else?"
Wu San's eyes darted around.
"It's gone—it's all gone—"
Shen Bai stood up.
He turned and walked away.
"etc!"
Wu San shouted from behind.
"There's one more person!"
Shen Bai stopped.
He didn't turn around.
"The Cui family!"
Wu San's voice trembled, as if it were being squeezed out of his throat.
"The Wang family is just a middleman! The lion's share of the tribute money goes to the Cui family!"
Shen Bai clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves.
The Cui family.
really.
He turned around and looked at Wu San.
"Anything else?"
"It's gone—it's all gone—"
Shen Bai looked at him.
Then he walked over.
He squatted down to meet Wu San's gaze.
"Are you done talking?"
Wu San nodded frantically.
Shen Bai looked at him.
Then he stood up.
"Thanks."
He said.
Then he turned and walked away.
Wu San was stunned.
What else did he want to say?
A flash of silver light.
It passed through his chest.
Wu San stopped moving.
---
Shen Bai stood at the entrance of the village, looking at the sky.
The sky was already starting to lighten. It was greyish-white, like the face of a dead person.
Lin Yu walked over and stood next to him.
The silver spear was still stained with blood, and the silver gleam at its tip had dimmed.
"The Cui family."
"Um."
"What should we do?"
Shen Bai did not answer.
He looked at the sky for a long time.
Then he spoke.
"go back."
He said.
"Training troops."
---
On the way back, Lao Gui walked up to Shen Bai.
"Young Master, what do you think of Wu San's words?"
Shen Bai didn't stop. "It's true."
Old Ghost was silent for a moment. "Then the Cui family—"
"More difficult to deal with than Wang Dechang. But also more worthwhile."
Old Gui didn't ask any more questions. The two of them walked one after the other at the front of the group.
After walking for a while, Shen Bai suddenly spoke.
"Wang Dechang, the Unmoved King".
Old Ghost paused. "Why?"
"He's a dog. Killing a dog is easy—but the people behind the dog will hide."
The wind blew by, carrying the earthy smell of the mountains.
"I don't want a dog."
Shen Bai raised his head and looked at the road ahead.
"What I want is to draw out the person behind this."
He didn't turn around and kept walking forward.
"Go back. Train the troops. Three months later, let the Cui family come to us on their own."
Old Ghost watched his retreating figure, slowed his pace for a moment, and then followed.
Behind him, ten eroded beings followed quietly, in neat formation, and not one of them spoke.
---
By the time we got back to camp, the sun had already risen.
Iron Shield stood at the camp gate, his expression not quite right.
"What's wrong?"
Someone is waiting for you.
Iron Shield pointed inside.
"I waited for half an hour."
Shen Bai went inside.
In the center of the camp stood a person.
---
(End of Chapter Twenty)