Chapter 891: Comrades in Arms

The Beiman cavalry units, belonging to various factions, had already retreated in disarray to the previous ambush site, where Commandant Sun Ji of the You Nu Shou had fallen in battle.

The White Horse You Nu Shou pursued relentlessly, advancing with overwhelming force and suffering minimal casualties. If a cavalryman was wounded by an arrow and could no longer fight, he would dismount and search nearby for the headless bodies of their fallen comrades from the retreat, placing them on his horse.

Along the way, many riderless Beiman warhorses lingered by the bodies of their fallen masters, lying in pools of blood. They would occasionally lower their heads to gently touch the bodies, attempting to rouse the Beiman cavalrymen who had been shot down by the Northern Liang border army. Many of these warhorses also had one or two heads of Sun Ji's You Nu Shou, their eyes still open in death, hanging near their saddles. Li Hanlin's and Wei Musheng's injured You Nu Shou units silently turned back south. As they went, they collected bodies and retrieved heads. They continuously gathered the solitary Northern Liang warhorses scattered across the plains. If any warhorse had not yet died, the You Nu Shou would not disregard them; they would crouch down, stroke their heads, and then swiftly plunge a knife into their necks, granting them a quick, merciful end.

Nearly every Northern Liang border cavalryman believed that their warhorse, which they treated like a cherished companion in this life, would surely be reincarnated as a human in the next. They believed these horses would become Northern Liang border soldiers just like them, able to fight side by side once more.

Folk tales often recount that a clay pot cannot avoid breaking by the well, and a general cannot escape dying on the battlefield. Yet, even the most stirring narratives can never truly express the profound sorrow of a battlefield filled with clashing weapons and thundering hooves.

Yelü Chucai, commander of the Crow Cavalry, and Lin Fu, leader of the Black Fox Cavalry, rode side by side. Behind them, only a few Longguan scouts, responsible for the rear guard, remained visible. The vast majority of the cavalry scouts had already fallen to the White Horse light crossbows and Liang sabers. Lin Fu, with a bloody gash across his face, gasped for air, each breath pulling at the deeply cut, bone-deep wound, causing agonizing pain. Yelü Chucai casually twisted off a crossbow bolt embedded in his shoulder and looked back. The Longguan cavalry scouts were completely decimated on this Long'an Plain, and the Crow and Black Fox Cavalry had also lost over sixty percent of their strength. Yelü Chucai suddenly frowned. "Why have the You Nu Shou behind us slowed their pace? Have Li Hanlin and Wei Musheng begun to sense our intentions? If they advance another thirty li north, my brother-in-law's eight thousand cavalry will form an encirclement! Lin Fu, whether we can wipe out all three Northern Liang You Nu Shou units this time depends on whether Northern Liang is willing to be lured for another thirty li. Do you have a plan?"

Lin Fu endured the pain and grinned sinisterly. "Of course I have a plan," he said. "It just requires sacrificing lives. It depends on whether you, Yelü Chucai, are willing to pay the price."

Although Yelü Chucai was often called a fool by Dong Zhuo, he was, after all, an experienced general. Lin Fu's veiled words made him grasp the cruel necessity, and Yelü Chucai, taking a deep breath, still showed a flicker of compassion. He gestured, summoning a deputy general of the Crow Cavalry. Yelü Chucai didn't need to say much; the valiant deputy, who had followed Dong Zhuo on campaigns since his youth, grinned at Yelü Chucai, said nothing, nodded, and decisively turned his horse. After a few shouts, he led over eighty elite Crow Cavalry, deliberately slowing their pace, and soon fell from the front to the rear of the formation. Simultaneously, more than sixty Black Fox Cavalry from Lin Fu's unit made the same move. Together, both sides adopted a resolute stance, determined to desperately block the You Nu Shou's pursuit.

After Li Hanlin's unit, responsible for tailing and pursuing, intentionally slowed down, Wei Musheng immediately galloped to Li Hanlin's side. With a hint of accusation, he anxiously asked, "Commandant Li, if your men are too tired to pursue, you should have said so beforehand! My unit could have taken over the pursuit and killing! Why are you letting the enemy escape like this?"

Li Hanlin observed the movements of the Beiman cavalry scouts ahead. When he saw the stealthy actions of the more than 140 elite Beiman cavalrymen, he raised his saber and pointed forward, stating gravely, "From the looks of it, there are definitely Beiman ambushes, and a large enemy cavalry force cannot be far. Otherwise, the Crow and Black Fox Cavalry wouldn't have sent those hundred-plus riders to deliberately sacrifice themselves. Brother Wei, your unit should still hold back and conserve your strength; the real desperate battle is yet to come. Yuan Nanting's White Feather Light Cavalry will soon arrive on the battlefield. I'd like to see who can devour whom!"

Beiman came south to ride through Northern Liang and conquer the Central Plains. Every Beiman soldier fought desperately for military achievements and rewards.

We in Northern Liang, however, fight desperately so that fewer lives are lost.

It's a fundamental difference.

Following the direction of Li Hanlin's saber, Wei Musheng indeed saw more than a hundred elite Beiman cavalrymen forming a rear guard, apparently buying time for their respective commanders to escape the battlefield.

Li Hanlin's face suddenly filled with a fierce expression. "You hundred-plus cavalry, how hard is it to die!" he roared. "Li Shiyue, Fang Hutou, each lead a hundred cavalry and charge with me! This time, there's no need to conserve strength; just kill!"

From a distance, Lu Dou shouted, "Count me in!"

Both sides had nearly exhausted their arrows for horse bows and light crossbows, so they could only fight with their sabers.

The Beiman cavalry scouts brandished their sabers.

The Northern Liang You Nu Shou simultaneously gripped their sabers.

The combined hundred and forty-plus cavalry of the Crow and Black Fox units fiercely collided with Li Hanlin's two hundred You Nu Shou, then passed each other in a deadly exchange.

Neither cavalry force was large in numbers, and their formations were not spread out widely, making it a head-on clash in a narrow space. Each side, by unspoken agreement, advanced in lines of only four or five riders abreast.

In such a situation, those who led the charge were most vulnerable.

Commandant Li Hanlin, Captain Lu Dou, and Deputy Captains Li Shiyue and Fang Hutou—all four of them charged at the very front.

Li Hanlin's strike was the cleanest and most decisive; with a single saber stroke, he directly cut the throat of a Crow Cavalryman.

Lu Dou, the "double-pupiled" man with astonishing natural strength, struck with the greatest force. A single sweeping cut not only severed the enemy cavalryman's saber but also cut the upper body of the Black Fox Cavalryman clean in half.

Li Shiyue's saber strike was the most skillful; he twisted his head to dodge the enemy cavalryman's downward chop, and his Liang saber pierced the throat of the Crow Cavalryman.

Only Fang Hutou, straightforward in his approach, failed to kill an enemy; his saber merely clashed heavily with the enemy cavalryman's saber.

After Li Hanlin and Lu Dou had each killed three enemy cavalrymen, and after Li Shiyue had killed two Beiman scouts in quick succession, the third enemy cavalryman in that line was about to stab him in the neck.

Li Hanlin and Li Shiyue, with Lu Dou between them, caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of their eyes and both instinctively cried out, "Old Lu!"

Almost simultaneously, Lu Dou turned sideways and reached out, grabbing the body of the nearby enemy cavalryman who had not yet fallen from his horse. He pulled it over with one hand, smashing it precisely onto the scout facing Li Shiyue.

Lu Dou still had the leisure to grin at Li Shiyue, who had narrowly escaped, and seemed to mouth the word "six."

Li Shiyue snorted, ignoring him.

Lu Dou meant that Li Shiyue already owed him six lives. According to the agreement among the four brothers, when they returned to Lingzhou for pleasure, Li Shiyue would have to treat Lu Dou to the most expensive courtesan six times.

But everyone knew full well that all their reward money had long been given to their fallen comrades.

So in truth, all four of them were penniless, unable to save even a few taels of silver.

As nearly half of the two cavalry forces intertwined, Fang Hutou was chopped off his horse by an enemy saber and was about to be trampled on the chest by the next warhorse. Li Hanlin was about to go save him, but Lu Dou had already shouted, "I'm coming!" He was the first to leap from his horse, soaring past Li Hanlin and his horse. Bending his knees, he landed on the sandy ground, lunged forward, and heavily hammered his fists into the abdomen of that Beiman warhorse, sending both horse and rider flying sideways. Lu Dou gently kicked Fang Hutou's shoulder, pushing him out of the immediate combat. At this point, a Beiman enemy cavalryman charged directly at him. Lu Dou grinned fiercely and did not dodge. Instead, he moved as agilely as a weasel, curling his body, hands and feet close to the ground, scuttling forward. Just as he was about to pass almost underneath the Beiman warhorse's belly, he suddenly stood up. The large Beiman horse was instantly lifted by the "double-pupiled" man, who had been bent low, using his shoulders. The unprepared cavalryman on its back lost his balance and had his head severed by a passing You Nu Shou cavalryman.

Li Hanlin could not attend to anything else, only focusing on killing enemies. When he realized that Li Shiyue, the only one left beside him, was no longer in his peripheral vision, he seized a momentary opening to glance back. He saw Li Shiyue, now a dozen paces behind him, had just cut down a Beiman barbarian, his face covered in blood. Li Shiyue, a gentry son from a privileged background, also happened to see Li Hanlin's glance back. With a brilliant smile, he nodded, signaling Li Hanlin not to worry about him.

Li Hanlin smiled knowingly, then turned back to continue fighting.

But when he finally, as the first, broke through the enemy formation, he took a short breath and patiently waited for Li Shiyue's figure to appear. He waited, but Li Shiyue did not appear.

In this lifetime, he would never wait for him again.

At that moment, Li Hanlin's eyes turned red; he frantically turned his horse around and galloped back.

Finally, when all one hundred and forty elite Beiman scouts were dead, and the majority of Commandant Li Hanlin's You Nu Shou continued their pursuit, Li Hanlin finally found Li Shiyue.

He lay in a pool of blood, eyes open, staring at the sky.

Li Shiyue's breathing grew gradually weaker.

Li Hanlin sat on the ground, gently holding him in his arms.

Lu Dou and Fang Hutou, covered in blood, sat numbly opposite Li Hanlin.

Among the four, Fang Hutou, with his powerful build but gentlest nature, suddenly buried his head in his hands and sobbed loudly. "It's all my fault," he cried. "If I hadn't been useless, Old Lu wouldn't have had to save me. As long as Old Lu was watching Shiyue, Shiyue wouldn't have had to die... I killed Shiyue..."

A man who had suffered over thirty wounds on the battlefield, yet had never shed a tear, was now choking with sobs.

Li Shiyue's lips trembled, as if he wanted to speak, or perhaps to make a movement.

The pale-faced Li Hanlin looked up and softly said to Fang Hutou, "Hutou, if we are brothers, don't say such things. Do you want Shiyue to leave us uneasy?"

Fang Hutou struggled to stop crying, raised an arm to cover his mouth, and looked at Li Shiyue with a tear-streaked face.

Lu Dou haphazardly wiped the blood from his face, turning his already somewhat recognizable features into a grotesque, streaked mess. Lu Dou gently clasped one of Li Shiyue's hands. "Among us Qingzhou people," he said, "we believe in keeping clear accounts even with close brothers; paying debts is only natural. You, Li Shiyue, owe me six lives. Don't even think about welshing on it. Even if you can't pay it back in this life, you'll have to continue paying in the next... So, we'll still be brothers."

Li Hanlin's lips trembled, but he never cried out loud like Fang Hutou.

He looked at this young man who had once said studying was harder than getting cut by a knife. He looked at the two wounds on his chest, where a Beiman saber had pierced his armor. He looked at this young man who had also once said a fortune teller told him he would die in October.

Li Hanlin forced a smile, lowered his head, and gently said to Li Shiyue, "Shiyue, you used to often say that you had a sister at home as beautiful as a flower, the best woman in the world, and you always talked about me becoming your brother-in-law. But after you visited my home, you never brought it up again. At that time, we went to Fang Hutou's house and your house. After I met her, honestly, your sister's looks were quite ordinary, far from the women I used to see when I indulged in a dissipated life. But her character is truly excellent. I actually like her very much, and I believe that if I married her, she would be a virtuous and capable wife. It's just that back then, the thought of being called 'brother-in-law' by you made me hesitate. Now I'm telling you this, don't think it's too late."

Li Shiyue slowly closed his eyes.

Li Hanlin reached up, rubbed his eyes, and gently exhaled. He turned to Fang Hutou and said, "Hutou, stay with Shiyue. Take Shiyue back to Qingyuan Military Town."

Fang Hutou was about to speak, but Lu Dou shook his head at him.

Li Hanlin and Lu Dou switched to Liangzhou warhorses. Li Hanlin looked into the distance. "I'll make up for Shiyue's share," he said. "As for Hutou's, will you?"

Lu Dou nodded silently.

Lu Dou suddenly asked, "Hanlin, do you truly like Shiyue's sister?"

Li Hanlin smiled without hesitation. "I didn't say those things for Shiyue's sake," he said. "I truly like her. I fell for that woman at first sight, the kind of liking that defies reason."

Lu Dou's eyes softened as he looked into the distance. "Shiyue and Hutou only know that I'm from Qingzhou," he said, "but Hanlin, you should know more. You know I was once a death warrior trained by the Lu family of Qingzhou, and even a personal guard to the Northern Liang Princess Consort, Lu Chengyan."

Li Hanlin acknowledged with a hum, saying, "The woman you like is also worthy of your affection. That's enough."

Lu Dou laughed, a rare occurrence for him. "She likes that person, and I concede defeat wholeheartedly," he said. "In this life, having you three as friends is enough for me, Lu Dou."

Li Hanlin turned to watch Fang Hutou's horse gradually ride into the distance, and whispered softly, "Shiyue was most afraid of ghosts in this life. He won't have to be afraid anymore."