Volume One: The Wild Youth Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Unexpected Troops

The sky had darkened, and after a day of uproar, Mount Si had settled into quiet. Each person retired to their rooms, exchanging words in the hush of night.

“Elder Liu, what on earth happened to Yu Baili? He up and left with Shen Yian without so much as a word, not caring for the fate of everyone in the Northern Territory. That’s not like him at all.” Lin Changtian stretched languidly. He had only sat in the commander's seat of Mount Si for an afternoon, yet already felt listless and drained, his back aching, wishing for nothing more than to sleep the world away.

Liu Qingshan sighed. No matter how he tried to divine the future, the mysteries of heaven remained shrouded to him. “Before I arrived in the Northern Territory, he fought a fierce battle with a formidable practitioner at the Void Realm. That scoundrel told me himself: their clash at Baili Pavilion left the place in ruins, and the mountain passes at Qishan and Lianshan were cleaved clean through. There aren’t many at the Void Realm who possess such power, yet this opponent wielded methods even Yu Baili had never seen. Since I arrived, he’s only met with me once, then announced he would enter seclusion for a while. You know the rest—Yu Baili and Shen Yian vanished without a trace, his place of cultivation gathering dust. I fear Yu Baili left this world long ago. As for why, that is beyond my understanding.”

Lin Changtian nodded. With the abilities of the Hawk-Tiger of the North, if he didn’t want his secrets known, few could ever pry them out. “Then, Elder Liu, now that Zhang Yi’s forces are strong, and when I first arrived, there were corpses piled at the foot of Mount Si—clearly he’s eager to destroy us. We should make plans early.”

“No. Before you came, Zhang Yi had already gathered all his strength for this siege. He surrounded the mountain for days, and the fragile alliance here only grew shakier. Everyone’s thinking of returning to their old lands to claim the best territory for themselves. Nothing but a gaggle of unruly rabble, all obsessed with their own little patch, incapable of making anything lasting. Who we should truly worry about are the three great bandit chiefs who slipped away to their own lands—Northern Ma Hui, Western Lin Yuan, and Eastern Cheng Yu. If you’re charitable, you can count Southern Zhang Yi himself among them. These men are ready to carve up the Northern Territory for good. If we let this situation take shape, and they form a standoff, there may be nowhere left for the likes of us.”

“So you mean we need to break one of their powers before the four become established?” Lin Changtian pondered, hesitated a while, then continued, “With the troops we have on Mount Si, who should we strike first?”

Liu Qingshan stroked his beard, rose, and circled the hall several times, fingers working calculations. When the tapping of his cane on the floor finally ceased, he spoke. “Strike Zhang Yi first, then subdue the three bandits, and the realm will be secured!”

Lin Changtian was skeptical, suspecting Liu Qingshan’s mind had wandered again, playing the part of a scheming strategist. Whatever else could be said, the old man certainly put on a show. “Elder, isn’t this a bit premature? Besides, Zhang Yi is at his peak now. We worked so hard to drive that mad dog off Mount Si, and now you want to go looking for trouble with him again? Isn’t that just asking for more pain?”

“Look at you—how long have you been away from me, and already you’re acting as foolish as those pedantic scholars in Ruzhou? Zhang Yi’s alliance may seem dominant now, but his rise comes at a deadly cost! Cunning alone won’t make all those forces serve him—they’re all the type who won’t move until there’s something in it for them. Zhang Yi doesn’t have the resources to satisfy them all. That’s why we must strike when he’s at his strongest: first, to make a name for ourselves in the Northern Territory, so these savages see that even without Yu Baili, the rest of us aren’t pushovers; second, to absorb his alliance, no matter how big or small their forces, break them up, reorganize them, and prevent them all from fleeing back to their lands, which would just hand fresh troops to the three bandit chiefs.”

Liu Qingshan was still rambling, getting increasingly animated, when suddenly snores arose behind him. Turning, he saw Lin Changtian sound asleep, which left the old man fuming for a while. He considered giving the boy a slap, but then remembered the journey from Wenyuan Divine Continent had been long and arduous. With a wry smile, he shook his head and left quietly.

At midnight, Mount Si enjoyed a peace it had not seen in a long time.

Kui Sheng sat alone atop the cliff, drinking and gazing at the moon, wild and uninhibited, a picture of rugged abandon. Xu Yong stood nearby, playing a nameless southern tune on his flute. He was a son of the south, never before having seen such vast snows. But as he gazed, his heart calmed, and his dreams filled with images of bridges and flowing streams.

Whose home would he return to, he wondered?

Chen Ziliang muttered in his sleep. Lin Xiaoxi tucked a fresh quilt around him, then returned to her desk to read.

A year had passed. The students were no longer students, but had become just another part of the teeming masses struggling for survival.

...

The next morning, in the main tent on Mount Si.

“Strike Zhang Yi first?” The assembled generals of Mount Si stared in disbelief. They had all been summoned early by their new commander, expecting some important announcement. But no one anticipated he would play such a bold card right away—it left the officers reeling.

Lin Changtian remained silent, calmly surveying the crowd, waiting for the noise and questions to reach a crescendo before finally speaking. “Elder Liu has already explained everything clearly. Does anyone have questions?”

Qi Yong, seeing that the other officers were only muttering among themselves, gritted his teeth and bellowed, “Silence! What are you all shouting about? The commander has not finished speaking!”

The officers turned their hopeful gaze to Lin Changtian, awaiting his next words.

Lin Changtian smiled and said to Qi Yong, “I’ve finished. But you, lad, look as if you’re bursting to say something. Out with it.”

Qi Yong wiped the sweat from his face, fearing Lin Changtian might think him a troublemaker. He hurried to explain, “To be honest, Commander, there’s reason for the men to be uneasy. It’s not that we doubt Elder Liu’s strategy, but after so many hard-fought battles, Mount Si’s forces are truly depleted. Even if Zhang Yi’s men are a rabble, their numbers far exceed ours. If not for the natural defenses of Mount Si, Zhang Yi would have broken our camp long ago. Please, Commander, consider carefully. Even waiting two months before launching a campaign would not be too late.”

“That’s my fault for not explaining sooner. I know the brothers on Mount Si are exhausted. Even at full strength, in a direct confrontation, we’d be at a disadvantage. That’s why, to break up Zhang Yi’s alliance, we must use unconventional tactics! Fewer men is not a problem.”

Before Qi Yong could reply, Kui Sheng spoke up first. “Changtian, if it’s a surprise attack, I volunteer to lead the vanguard. But which troops will form this special force—mine, or Xu Yong’s? All the elite soldiers left on Mount Si are under the two of us; the rest aren’t worth considering.”

Kui Sheng’s tone was calm, and the other Mount Si officers did not object, as if it was an open secret.

“Are they still fighting up north by bombarding with firearms and then closing in for hand-to-hand combat? If so, Chen Mo and I would be enough.” Lin Changtian’s tone was equally calm, as if he alone could crush the entire Zhang Yi alliance.

Kui Sheng shook his head with a wry smile. “If the Northern Territory’s warfare were as it once was, then even without Commander Yu, what could Zhang Yi possibly do? Chen Ziliang, Xu Yong, even I could easily deal with that rabble. But times have changed. The ordinary plants and animals outside are nothing like before, let alone the Northern Territory. Since the ‘Era of Awakening’ began, the unique energies of this land have changed everything. Now, finding an ordinary person is rare. Even the villagers can beat a tiger to death with their bare hands, let alone these bandits. Among Zhang Yi’s men, there are already over a thousand whose physical strength matches that of entry-level cultivators! And there are said to be dozens of monsters just a step below the ‘Cavern God’ level. As for Zhang Yi himself, according to Elder Liu, he’s not even afraid of true Cavern God practitioners.”

“Then what about our own strength?” Lin Changtian frowned, realizing that after leaving Ruzhou, he was already facing an adversary nearly his equal in power.

No sooner had he spoken than the Mount Si officers all lifted their heads high. Qi Yong, with a touch of pride, stepped forward and said, “Commander, not to boast, but among those brutes, the toughest are just hard to wear down. In single combat, aside from Zhang Yi himself, none of the others would trouble Generals Chen, Xu, or Kui. In fact, any one of us here could handle them handily!”

“That’s right!” the officers shouted in unison. At the dawn of the ‘Era of Awakening,’ Mount Si had already been dominating Mount Yi. Back then, Zhang Yi was only second-in-command, and even Yu Wenlong, the top man on the mountain, was no match. When it came to individual prowess, Mount Si had never feared anyone and never would.

Lin Changtian smiled, exchanging a glance with Liu Qingshan. This was a pleasant surprise for them both. “In that case, a surprise attack is feasible. Let it be clear: we are not fighting for one city or stronghold. Once we descend from the mountain, we’ll be operating for a long time—raiding, harassing, striking and vanishing. That will be our way.”

The Mount Si officers were stunned by Lin Changtian’s words. They looked at each other in confusion, until Qi Yong stepped forward again, scratching his head awkwardly. “Commander, honestly, none of us have ever heard of this approach. We usually fight head-on. Even planning an ambush isn’t our business. I fear no one on Mount Si really understands what you mean.”

“No matter,” Lin Changtian laughed, rising to stand beside Qi Yong. He patted the big fellow’s head and glanced playfully at Chen Mo, who looked quite pleased with himself. “Among those who came up the mountain with me are the experts of ‘Yu’—masters of ambush, infiltration, assassination, disguise, and every underhanded trick. As they say, it’s hard to learn virtue, but easy to pick up bad habits. A few days is all it will take to deal with that rabble.”

Qi Yong eyed Chen Mo suspiciously, sizing him up for a long time but still seeing nothing remarkable.

He could hardly be blamed. The name ‘Yu’ was barely known in the Northern Territory. But on the Central Plains, who under heaven did not tremble at its mention?

Even after the Lin clan conquered the Central North, they dared not settle scores with what ‘Yu’ had once done.

Seeing Chen Mo ignore him, Qi Yong pursed his lips, about to say more, when Lin Changtian waved him off and returned to his command seat. His gaze grew sharp, sending chills through the hearts of the Mount Si officers. “Transmit my order: from this day forth, all officers on Mount Si obey Chen Mo’s command. From highest to lowest, any who disobey will be executed without mercy!”

The words were final, beyond all doubt.

Qi Yong dared not say another word, swallowed hard, and joined the others in responding, “We obey the commander’s orders!”