Chapter 1689

After Hu Xiaotian and his group left Zan Buliu's camp, they went to the market in Guixu to meet up with Liang Yinghao and the others; just now they had come over, while Liang Yinghao and Xiong Tianba stayed in the market to continue gathering information, hoping to make some discovery.

Arriving at the meeting point, they saw Liang Yinghao happily come up to them; Hu Xiaotian gave him a look, Liang Yinghao understood, and without speaking in front of Tang Qingxuan, he followed Hu Xiaotian to the side and whispered: 'Several Dangyi tribespeople look suspicious; they have been secretly following us.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Is that true?'

Liang Yinghao nodded and said: 'I told the brothers to hold back for now, and I deliberately inquired around the market, discovering that person has been tailing us from behind; clearly they are after us.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Where are those people now?'

Liang Yinghao said: 'They are still nearby; several people take turns tailing us. I let Xiong Hai Zi temporarily separate and secretly follow them.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded; Liang Yinghao is experienced in handling affairs, so he felt reassured. Xiong Tianba is also a rough-but-careful lad, not muddle-headed on important matters. Liang Yinghao did not act immediately, but instead had Xiong Hai Zi play the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind—this response was undoubtedly correct.

Hu Xiaotian thought for a moment, then told him not to spread this news among everyone for now; they continued to stroll the market, openly purchasing horses bearing the Tang seal. Since someone was tailing them, it proved these people had already taken notice of them; lacking clues, deliberately creating an influence and waiting for the enemy to come to them was also a good plan.

Hu Xiaotian acted generously; their blatant purchasing at the market naturally drew much attention. At the same time, Hu Xiaotian sent people to investigate Zan Buliu's movements, and Zan Buliu, not long after they left, packed up camp and departed with his men.

At dusk, the monthly market began to disperse. Everyone packed up their tents, drove their carriages and horses, and most of the merchants who had come to purchase left with full loads.

Hu Xiaotian purchased over sixty warhorses today; the horses came from various sources. It seems those horse thieves also anticipated that someone might come to investigate, so they broke the herd into small groups. They sold them separately to the various tribes on the Ankang Grassland—countless sources, making investigation difficult.

In Hu Xiaotian's view, the other side's behavior was not wise; as long as they left clues, there was a chance of being discovered. Their actions were not decisive; even to eliminate hidden dangers, they should not have left any horses behind.

Ten miles northwest of Guixu stood an abandoned fortress. Hu Xiaotian had previously sent people to scout the terrain and designated it as tonight's resting place; first, the fortress could block wind and sand; second, its elevated position allowed occupying it to conveniently observe the surroundings.

While Liang Yinghao and Xiong Tianba were setting up guards, Zong Tang sensed something amiss, came to Hu Xiaotian's side and asked: 'What's up? Are enemies coming?'

Hu Xiaotian told Zong Tang about Liang Yinghao and the others' discovery.

Zong Tang said: 'If they dare come, I will make sure they never return.'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: 'Perhaps we are overthinking; they might not dare show themselves directly.' He lifted his head and saw, on the ruined beacon tower ahead, a delicate figure standing alone—it was Tang Qingxuan.

Hu Xiaotian slowly walked toward the beacon tower; before he reached Tang Qingxuan's side, she already heard the footsteps behind her. She sighed softly and said: 'I want to be alone.'

Hu Xiaotian came behind her, opened his arms and embraced her; Tang Qingxuan closed her eyes and could not help but sob again. These days, the gruesome sight of her elder brother's killing kept replaying in her mind, like a nightmare she could not shake off.

Hu Xiaotian whispered: 'With me here, you have nothing to fear.'

Tang Qingxuan nodded and whispered: 'I'm not afraid, but... whenever I think of how horribly my elder brother died, my heart feels extremely heavy; usually, it's my elder brother who dotes on me the most.'

Hu Xiaotian sighed, gently stroked her hair, and said softly: 'Rest assured, I will certainly seek justice for your elder brother!' Under his comfort, Tang Qingxuan returned to the tent, and Hu Xiaotian entrusted her to Weisa's care.

Leaving the tent, Liang Yinghao came forward, lowered his voice to report: 'Sir, no abnormalities have been detected around.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'We cannot be careless; since they have come to tail us, they will not give up easily.'

Liang Yinghao said: 'My lord, rest early; tonight I and the brothers will take turns keeping watch.'

At this moment, someone on the beacon tower made a gesture, indicating that there was a situation.

Hu Xiaotian and Liang Yinghao went up to the beacon tower together; looking into the distance, they saw a rider heading toward their position. From the rider's appearance, he did not seem to be a passing merchant; he whipped his horse and galloped, four hooves flying, straight for the fortress.

Liang Yinghao made a gesture, and the four warriors guarding outside the fortress simultaneously went forward to meet him.

Not long after, someone came in to report; the person was an envoy sent by Zan Buliu.

Hu Xiaotian secretly wondered: they had just left, and Zan Buliu's people arrived right after; moreover, he seemed to know their lodging place so clearly—if this fellow had not been tailing them, no one would believe it. Could it be that the tailers Liang Yinghao had detected earlier were Zan Buliu's men?

Hu Xiaotian had a few soldiers bring Zan Buliu's envoy inside; the envoy came before Hu Xiaotian, bowed and presented the salute, saying: 'Young Master Hu, my lord entrusted me to deliver a letter to you; please read it personally.'

Hu Xiaotian took the letter, unfolded it, and saw a line of writing: 'Tonight the Dangyi tribe will gather a thousand people intending to attack the Young Master; please be extra careful.'

After reading it, Hu Xiaotian put the letter away and told the envoy: 'Please thank your lord for me; just say I have accepted this favor.'

The envoy clasped his fists and then left.

Hu Xiaotian summoned Zong Tang, Liang Yinghao, and Xiong Tianba to a secluded spot and handed them the letter to read.

Xiong Tianba said: 'Perfect timing; damn it, I've been holding in a bellyful of anger, wanting to avenge Uncle Tang. Whoever dares come, I will surely kill them, leaving not a single piece of armor.'

Zong Tang said: 'Zan Buliu's words may not be reliable; now we occupy advantageous terrain—we can advance or retreat. If we leave this campsite, and if someone truly intends to harm us, we fear we would have no defensible position.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Zan Buliu probably wouldn't dare lie to me; perhaps he obtained some information and is using this to earn a favor from me.' He glanced at Liang Yinghao, apparently seeking his opinion.

Liang Yinghao said: 'The Ankang Grassland is flat; I have inquired about the surrounding terrain—it's all endless plain. Even if someone truly wished to harm us, we would have nowhere to hide if we fled.'

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but laugh: 'Who said we should flee? We came all this way for what purpose? Isn't it to uncover the truth behind Tang elder brother's and those brothers' deaths? If the Dangyi tribe truly dares to send people to besiege us, that proves they are connected to this massacre. Although we have fewer than sixty people, each of us is worth ten; dealing with them poses no problem.' Hu Xiaotian looked around the abandoned fortress and said: 'If we leave now, we may never get another chance to learn the truth.'

Zong Tang said: 'Young Master, what you say makes sense, but after all, we are outnumbered; we will likely be unable to avoid casualties.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled: 'Elder Brother Zong, don't worry; we have the Zhuge Mister-designed Chasing Star Repeating Crossbow, which you helped adjust, and now it can be put to good use.'

Liang Yinghao said: 'I just fear their numbers may exceed one thousand.'

Xiong Tianba said: 'What's there to fear? I alone, with single spear and horse, could wipe them out.'

Hu Xiaotian glared at him; this brat is truly arrogant. While I believe he could, as a lone spearman, take an enemy commander's head from among a thousand troops, to claim he could single-handedly destroy the enemy's main force is pure fantasy.

Xiong Tianba also knew he had blown his own horn too much; he hehehed and fell silent.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Everyone take turns standing guard, waiting for the enemy to arrive; I want to see whether these Dangyi tribespeople really have three heads and six arms.'

Everyone waited until midnight, yet no one launched an attack; not even a ghostly shadow appeared within a three-li radius. Often night raids occur in the watch period after midnight, when people are most prone to fatigue and most likely to let down their guard.

Hu Xiaotian also personally took part in the watch; he was about to relieve Zong Tang when he heard a horn blast in the distance. Looking up, he saw three squadrons speeding from all directions toward the fortress. Though his vision was keen, he could not immediately calculate the enemy's exact numbers in the night; judging by the formation's scale, their numbers were certainly not the thousand Zan Buliu claimed, but more like two thousand plus. Moreover, the enemy, confident in their overwhelming strength over Hu Xiaotian's side, had no intention of hiding their movements, and sounded the horn far away.

The horn's blast woke everyone on Hu Xiaotian's side; since they all knew a night raid was likely tonight, everyone had slept fully clothed, so upon hearing any disturbance they could quickly assemble to meet the enemy.

Tang Qingxuan and Weisa also came fully armed to Hu Xiaotian's side; Xiong Tianba, holding two large hammers, shouted excitedly: 'Third Uncle, send me to slaughter them till they lose bladder and bowel control.'

Hu Xiaotian merely smiled, nodded to Weisa, and Weisa followed him to the beacon tower, took out a huji and began to play; the mournful, desolate sound of the huji carried far on the night wind. Everyone on Hu Xiaotian's side had already prepared in advance, plugging their ears with specially made earplugs. When Hu Xiaotian had earlier given them the earplugs, he had not told them their true purpose, only saying they were to keep out wind and sand. In fact, the real purpose was to prevent them from being disturbed by Weisa's huji soul‑confusing melody.

Just returned from elsewhere, this First Update was written on the high-speed rail; tomorrow's update will resume normal! (To be continued~^~)