Chapter 1685

Guo Guangbi fiercely slapped his son, causing Guo Shaoxiong to see stars, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth; he covered his face, now raised with five clear finger marks, and exclaimed in shock: "Father, why did you hit me?"

Guo Guangbi trembled with anger, pointing at Guo Shaoxiong's nose and angrily scolding: "You wretched thing, you're about to anger me to death; what kind of person is Hu Xiaotian? Not provoking us would already be fortunate, yet you actually went out of your way to provoke him—do you not know this is like digging on the head of Tai Sui? If you're courting death yourself, that's fine, but why drag everyone else into it?"

Guo Shaoxiong shouted: "You fear him, but I don't! My thousand brothers are all clad in black with covered faces, and more than half of them are Dangyi tribesmen; even if Hu Xiaotian had immense abilities, he couldn't trace us, and I had those horses sold off, leaving not a single clue."

Guo Guangbi said: "You're not afraid? Then why cover your faces? Why not dare to leave those warhorses behind?"

Guo Shaoxiong had no reply.

Guo Guangbi angrily said: "Do you think slaughtering those people ends it? The robbery happened on Ankang Grassland; few here can mobilize that many troops. Perhaps we could have luckily escaped disaster, yet you cleverly sold those horses—do you really think Hu Xiaotian won't find out? Following this trail, he will surely track us down."

Guo Shaoxiong said: "Even if he tracks us down, what's there to fear? Ankang Grassland is vast; if he sends a large army, we can hide on the grassland, and it won't be easy to find us."

Guo Guangbi looked at this son who not only failed to help him but caused trouble everywhere, momentarily at a loss for words, pointed to the door outside, and shouted angrily: "Get out! I don't want to see you!"

Guo Shaoxiong gave a cold snort, turned and left; as he exited, he nearly bumped into Xie Jian, who greeted: "Where are you going, Young Marshal?"

Guo Shaoxiong ignored him completely and strode away.

Xie Jian watched Guo Shaoxiong's retreating back and couldn't help shaking his head. From Guo Shaoxiong's furious and flustered reaction, it seemed he had just been severely scolded by Guo Guangbi; looking over at Guo Guangbi, he saw his face dark as iron, anger not yet subsided.

Guo Guangbi gritted his teeth and cursed "beast", then sighed and said: "Mr. Xie has arrived."

Xie Jian said: "Has the Young Marshal angered you again?"

Guo Guangbi wore a stern face and recounted to Xie Jian everything Guo Shaoxiong had done. Upon hearing it, Xie Jian couldn't help but be shocked and exclaimed: "My lord, this is no trivial matter. Having killed so many of his men and seized his horse troop, Hu Xiaotian will certainly not let it rest."

Guo Guangbi said: "I never expected him to have such boldness, but the deed is done; now regretting it is too late."

Xie Jian nodded. In a low voice he asked: "Was there any survivor who escaped?"

Guo Guangbi said: "According to him, everyone was slaughtered to the last; not a single survivor escaped."

Xie Jian furrowed his brows, yet he didn't fully believe it; he knew Guo Shaoxiong somewhat—this fellow was a good-for-nothing second-generation master, yet he thought highly of himself. Having caused such a huge leak, he would naturally feel afraid and might not dare tell the truth before Guo Guangbi.

Xie Jian said: "We must quickly let the Young Marshal go out to avoid the wind. Strictly control those involved in the operation, spread rumors. Push this matter onto the Yu Lan Kingdom, and also quickly find the merchant who bought the horses; that merchant likely knows the inside story and must be eliminated to prevent future trouble."

Guo Guangbi nodded and said in a low voice: "I hope Hu Xiaotian won't track us down here."

Xie Jian said: "These are merely some remedial measures; it's uncertain whether they'll hold up, so perhaps we should prepare for the worst."

Guo Guangbi said: "You mean Hu Xiaotian will raise troops and march west?"

Xie Jian said: "I don't rule out that possibility, but according to my estimate, Hu Xiaotian is currently not suited for a large-scale western march; the route from Xingzhou to Jicheng is barren and lacks water, and Jicheng has no strategic value. Launching a large-scale war over a few lives seems not worthwhile. Moreover, his current strength does not support rapid expansion; if he expands blindly, neighboring countries will surely take advantage."

After hearing Xie Jian finish, Guo Guangbi felt somewhat relieved and sighed: "As long as he doesn't mobilize a large army, it's not really a problem."

Xie Jian said: "Even if it comes to the worst, and he truly sends troops here, we can abandon Jicheng and go to Ankang Grassland to wage guerrilla warfare against them."

Guo Guangbi gave a bitter smile: "Back when we first took Xingzhou, our might was mighty; now we're chased into a border town, possibly unable to even hold this small city—what face do I have left to live in this world?"

Xie Jian said: "As long as the green hills remain, we need not fear lack of firewood; we still have over forty thousand elite troops. Though Jicheng is small, it is easy to defend and hard to attack. If we firmly plant our feet here, relying on Ankang Grassland's superior geography, even if we cannot quickly grow strong, self-preservation poses no problem."

Guo Guangbi recalled the hard-won peace now threatened by his son's rash actions, his teeth itching with hatred, he gritted his teeth and cursed: "This beast is utterly incapable of success but excess in failure."

After careful thought, Hu Xiaotian decided to abandon the idea of attacking Guo Guangbi; although Guo Guangbi bore the greatest suspicion, we had no concrete evidence, and launching a campaign would be without justification. Moreover, an important point he and Xie Jian agreed on: the route from Xingzhou to Jicheng is desolate, lacking water, unfavorable for large-scale marching, and military supplies would become a major issue. Though Jicheng is small and easy to defend but hard to attack, the surrounding fifty li are all sandy wasteland, making siege even more difficult.

But if we truly wanted to launch a campaign, these difficulties could be overcome—just at the cost of some extra price. Since the Yunyang battle, Guo Guangbi's forces have been completely cleared from the Yongjiang River basin. Hu Xiaotian no longer regards him as an opponent; originally he intended to let this scoundrel live or die in that border town, but he never expected this incident to occur. The Yunyang battle proved that Guo Guangbi and his followers were merely a rabble, lacking strong combat power; once Guo Guangbi is removed, his subordinates will surely scatter like birds and beasts. This is why Hu Xiaotian decided to personally go and resolve the matter—Tang Tiehan is not only his subordinate but also his brother-in-law, and he must swiftly give the Tang family justice.

Tang Tiecheng had prepared to go, but Hu Xiaotian refused him; he is impulsive, and blinded by hatred over his elder brother's death, Hu Xiaotian feared that if he followed, he would cause trouble; moreover, this fellow refused to stay honestly at home, so they simply placed him under house arrest to prevent him from ruining matters.

For this journey he brought Tang Qingxuan along—first to accompany her on her revenge trip, second to let her go out and clear her mind. Coincidentally, Zong Tang came from Da Yong to Dongliang Jun; hearing that Hu Xiaotian was heading to Jicheng, he voluntarily offered to join. He had often traveled to the Western Regions to purchase goods, so he was very familiar with the situation there; together with the multilingual Weisa, the naturally strong Xiong Tianba, and the tunnel-digging expert Liang Yinghao, they assembled a fifty-strong elite squad. The group posed as a merchant caravan, boarded a ship sailing upstream along the Yongjiang River, landed in Xingzhou, and then proceeded westward.

Even traveling nonstop from Xingzhou to Jicheng would take half a month; along the way Hu Xiaotian did his best to console Tang Qingxuan, gathering news while enjoying the scenery—nothing should be rushed, for Hu Xiaotian well knew that haste makes waste.

After leaving Xingzhou, the vegetation before their eyes grew ever sparser; although it was early spring, the Gobi beach remained a lifeless expanse. At first, everyone was fascinated by the vast border scenery, but after several days of seeing nothing but that monotony, the dull colors began to bore them, and then they endured three consecutive days of sandstorms, leaving each of them covered in dust and grime.

As they neared Jicheng, the several-day-long raging sandstorm finally subsided; the sky was azure, not a wisp of cloud, the sun beat down directly, its fierce light making it hard for everyone to keep their eyes open.

Xiong Tianba's dark face now had a purplish tint; he cupped his hands over his forehead to make a shade, shielding the strong light as he gazed into the distance, muttering: "Damn! Freezing to death at night, scorched to death by day—my face is about to be turned into a pockmarked mess by the wind and sand, and I still need to find a wife."

Liang Yinghao burst out laughing: "With that look, you resemble a big monkey—who would want to marry you?"

Xiong Tianba said: "Radishes and cabbages each have their fans; you don't need to be handsome to be liked by beauties—stinky tofu is already smelly enough, yet many beauties still vie to eat it!"

Those around were amused by his words and laughed; Zong Tang roared with laughter: "I think the bear kid makes sense."

Liang Yinghao said: "I feel there's hidden meaning in his words." He deliberately glanced at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian chuckled: "I think so too, bear kid—you think I'm displeased, don't you?"

Xiong Tianba hastily shook his head: "Third Uncle, don't listen to Uncle Liang spouting nonsense—I didn't mean that about you; you truly are handsome, and not only do beauties like you, I like you too."

Everyone laughed even more heartily.

Hu Xiaotian laughed and scolded: "I have no interest in you, that big monkey."

Tang Qingxuan remained absent-minded, riding her horse and lagging behind the group, looking listless; Weisa stayed by her side, whispering: "Sister Qingxuan, they're chatting so lively—why don't we go over and listen?"

Tang Qingxuan softly said: "Go ahead."

Weisa knew she had not yet emerged from the pain of losing her brother, and looked at Tang Qingxuan with some sympathy; just then he heard Hu Xiaotian ahead call out: "Brothers, Jicheng is right up front!"

Second update uploaded, seeking Monthly Ticket! (To be continued~^~)