Chapter 92: The First Meeting with Liu Yu, Part One

Zhang Chi had still underestimated the situation.

Last time, he had thrown Gao Yazhi from the saddle because the assault had come so abruptly, and no one had imagined that Bai Xue could move with such astonishing speed. That moment of surprise had given Zhang Chi his opening. But if the army had been prepared, that same method would never work a second time.

The Northern Garrison Army had once suffered defeat at his hands because of such a trick. How could it be careless again? The troops were well trained, and the moment Gao Yazhi gave the order, their formation shifted at once. They sealed the road ahead like a wall of iron. Bai Xue leaped and darted, but no matter how divine a horse might be, unless it were truly a winged heavenly steed, it could scarcely fly to Gao Yazhi’s side.

“General, this man is your fated nemesis. As long as you kill him, you will surely be victorious from this day on,” urged Daoist Guardian Yin.

In truth, the one who most wanted Zhang Chi dead was not Gao Yazhi, but this very Daoist Guardian Yin.

He was a man of the Daoist school, and the reason he wanted Zhang Chi’s life was simple enough: Zhang Chi was the Heavenly Secret. For that one reason alone, he longed to see Zhang Chi dead and buried without delay.

Though Daoist Guardian Yin enjoyed great prestige in the Northern Garrison Army, he held no military authority. Thus he could only incite Gao Yazhi to kill Zhang Chi.

Gao Yazhi had already long harbored fear of Zhang Chi, but seeing that Zhang Chi truly could not break through, he finally relaxed. Now, hearing Daoist Guardian Yin speak thus, he felt as though a fish stranded ashore had at last found the sea again, and he cried out with a cruel grin, “Kill him! Kill him at once!”

Though Zhang Chi could not force his way through, with Bai Xue’s agile movements and Dao Xuan guarding his flank, he was not in immediate danger. Yet the Northern Garrison Army in the distance was already beginning to redeploy against him, and in a moment things would no longer be so simple.

With Bai Xue’s speed, so long as there was room to dodge and shift, things remained manageable. What was most feared was being encircled by the army. Then, no matter how high one’s skill or how swift one’s feet, one would ultimately be trampled into mud beneath the mass of troops.

Because of Zhang Chi’s charge, the pressure on the Five Bushels of Rice Daoists behind him eased at once. Yet Zhang Chi knew that with the combat strength of these people, there was no way they could ever be the match of the Northern Garrison Iron Army. And now that he could not kill their commander, if this went on, both they and he would die here.

At this point, Zhang Chi could no longer care about anything else. He could only fight with all his might. If he could break through and kill Gao Yazhi, he would live; otherwise, death awaited. Between life and death, there was no time left for hesitation. Borrowing Bai Xue’s charging momentum, he thrust his spear in rapid succession, sending the two men who came at him tumbling from their horses. Yet his advance did not slow at all; he still drove straight toward Gao Yazhi.

“Last time he slipped away by using the fog. This time we cannot let him escape again. If I can kill the Heavenly Secret, that will be a great merit for our Alchemical Cauldron line,” Daoist Guardian Yin thought to himself.

He understood very well that he was not truly Daoist Guardian Yin. The real Daoist Guardian Yin was far away in Shu, the birthplace of Daoism, while he was merely a stand-in serving in the Northern Garrison Army. The Daoist Guardian Yin of Shu was the true inheritor of the Alchemical Cauldron line, and had always claimed to be the Heavenly Secret. If he could kill Zhang Chi, the true Heavenly Secret, would that not be an immense achievement?

Eager to win merit, Daoist Guardian Yin had from the start never believed Zhang Chi to be especially formidable. He merely relied on a good horse. Killing him would not be difficult. Now that Zhang Chi was surrounded, if he could personally take the life of the Heavenly Secret, his merit would be all the greater.

Thinking thus, he urged his horse forward to the front line and shouted for all to hear, “None of you must falter. I shall employ the arts of the Dao. If all the generals advance together, that white horse rider will surely die with no place of burial!”

With those words, the Northern Garrison troops grew even fiercer. This was an age steeped in superstition. Most of the soldiers believed fervently in the spellcraft of the Alchemical Cauldron school, and in their hearts Daoist Guardian Yin possessed great and wondrous power.

Now that they had heard he would use Daoist arts, what was there to fear? They surged forward one after another with reckless courage, like waves rolling toward Zhang Chi and Dao Xuan.

The situation was grim, but there was no road of retreat left. Zhang Chi no longer bothered with anything else; whenever someone rushed at him, he drove his spear straight out. He truly killed quite a few that way. But blades and spears gathered more and more tightly around him, and Dao Xuan, after all, had only a single saber. As more and more men pressed in, his defense grew increasingly strained.

The encirclement tightened further. Swords and spears never left Zhang Chi’s body. His clothes had been slit in countless places, and blood began to seep from some of the cuts, though fortunately none had reached his sinews or bone.

“Brother Zhang, be careful!” Dao Xuan cried out in haste as he blocked a heavy blade sweeping toward him. Zhang Chi roared, and at that very instant his spear pierced clean through the chest of the man before him.

But before he could withdraw the spear, another commander across the way, mounted on a black horse, had already charged close.

Though seated on horseback, the commander was clearly a tall man. Had he been standing on the ground, he would likely have stood nearly eight feet high. Yet for all his imposing appearance, the armor he wore showed that he was only a low-ranking officer in the Northern Garrison Army.

The moment he reached Zhang Chi, he thrust a spear straight at Zhang Chi’s chest. Zhang Chi’s own weapon was still embedded in the body of the man on his left, and he had no time to pull it free. Just as the enemy spear was about to pierce his chest, Dao Xuan barely managed to ward it off in time, swinging his saber to shield Zhang Chi’s face.

Even with Dao Xuan’s skill, the strike was not fully deflected. The spear rode up along Dao Xuan’s saber and then stabbed again at Zhang Chi’s throat.

“Brother Zhang, lie flat against the horse!” Dao Xuan shouted. His saber was almost knocked from his hand, and he knew at once that this man was no ordinary warrior. In that split second he pressed down on Zhang Chi’s neck.

The spear passed in deadly peril, grazing Zhang Chi’s scalp. Zhang Chi was horrified, feeling only a searing pain across his head.

But he had dodged in time, and fortunately he was still alive.

Seeing his first strike fail, the commander thrust again with his spear.

“Damn it.” After blocking that first blow, Dao Xuan’s tiger’s mouth was still numb. He could not possibly withstand a second attack. He had never expected to encounter such a troublesome opponent among the Northern Garrison Army, and could not help feeling uneasy.

Suddenly, Bai Xue let out a dragon’s roar and reared skyward with a shrill neigh. Before the cry had even faded, Bai Xue had already lashed out with its forelegs and kicked at the black horse beneath the opposing commander.

The commander’s spear had not yet reached Zhang Chi, but Bai Xue’s hoof struck the black horse directly in the eye. The horse screamed in pain and crashed to the ground.

Of course Zhang Chi would not let such an opening slip away. Seeing the commander and horse both fall, and Bai Xue instantly understanding his intention, the horse charged forward at once and stopped beside the fallen man. Before the commander could even struggle up, Zhang Chi had already sent his spear toward him.

“Do not harm General Liu!”

A shout suddenly rang out amid the chaos, startling Zhang Chi. Yet the one who cried out was only an ordinary infantryman, a soldier on foot.

The infantryman also carried a spear in both hands. Because he was still some distance away, he quickly rolled across the ground to the fallen general’s side to shield him, and with a hurried sweep of his own spear barely deflected Zhang Chi’s weapon. Then he rushed to help the man on the ground, exposing his own back entirely to Zhang Chi.

If Zhang Chi had thrust then, this infantryman would have had no hope of blocking it. But Zhang Chi did not do so. In the confusion of battle, there were still such loyal and righteous men. He found himself unable to strike.

It seemed that the fallen officer held considerable prestige within the Northern Garrison Army. Seeing their general in danger, the surrounding troops actually hesitated, afraid of harming him and reluctant to press forward.

“Kill him, kill him! Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed!” Daoist Guardian Yin could not understand why a mere lower-ranking officer warranted such concern. Whether he lived or died made no difference to the larger battle. He drew his sword and pointed at Zhang Chi, saying, “Ignore the consequences. I want only the life of the white horse rider.”

With that, he formed a sword hand seal and began to chant an incantation.

Zhang Chi had not aimed his spear at the two men on the ground. Looking up, he saw Daoist Guardian Yin issuing orders from the front line, and rage surged instantly through him.

“So this is your own death sentence. If you hid behind the ranks, I might not be able to kill you. But you actually dared to come to the front.”

Seeing this fake Daoist Guardian Yin refuse to let him be, and now putting on such a show of occult power, Zhang Chi felt fire in his chest.

The instant that fury rose, Bai Xue and Zhang Chi were already in perfect accord, their cooperation seamless as if woven by heaven itself. Zhang Chi had merely been thinking of killing Daoist Guardian Yin when Bai Xue had already launched forward like flying hooves, wheeling about and charging straight at him.

Daoist Guardian Yin had not expected Zhang Chi to suddenly turn his horse around without warning. For an instant he was startled senseless. How had that white horse reversed itself in the blink of an eye? How could it possibly have rushed at him from such an impossible angle?

Bai Xue abruptly unleashed its speed to the limit. In almost the space of a single blink, before the Northern Garrison troops could react, it had already reached Daoist Guardian Yin’s horse.

“Die!”

Zhang Chi suddenly roared, and half of Daoist Guardian Yin’s soul and spirit seemed to fly out of him.

Daoist Guardian Yin had never truly taken Zhang Chi seriously. But when he faced him on the battlefield for real, he finally felt his terror. Still dazed and unable to think what to do, he felt Zhang Chi’s spear drive straight into his heart.

The thrust was impossibly precise, piercing Daoist Guardian Yin’s heart clean through. He remained seated in the saddle, eyes wide, his face frozen in disbelief. A moment later, his body gave one convulsive shudder before falling with a heavy thud from the horse. He was long since dead beyond any doubt.

The Northern Garrison Army was struck motionless by this sudden and shocking turn of events.

In their eyes, Daoist Guardian Yin was a figure akin to an immortal. And yet Zhang Chi had actually killed him, right in the middle of the Northern Garrison Army’s encirclement. How could such a thing be possible? In that instant, years of faith came crashing down. Every commander stood stunned, not knowing what to do.

Having slain Daoist Guardian Yin with his own hand, Zhang Chi suddenly felt a boundless frenzy take hold of him. He threw back his head and laughed wildly.

“Hahahahaha...”

The field fell silent. Not a bird was heard. Only Zhang Chi’s unbridled laughter rang out, shaking the heart. Driven by gusts of sea wind, it rolled through the air, and for some reason these Northern Garrison iron troops, who had once faced Fu Jian’s million-strong host without fear, now found themselves shivering with a chill to the bone at the sound of Zhang Chi’s laughter alone.