Chapter 68: The Mantis Catches the Cicada

The night wind blew past, and the night in Huai Shuo Town was very quiet.

Li Shuang sat inside the house, closing his eyes to cultivate his spirit.

Hou Jing paced back and forth nearby, clearly agitated.

Time passed second by second until, at a certain moment, the door banged three times.

Li Shuang opened his eyes, and Hou Jing stopped pacing.

“It looks like we’ve succeeded!”

Li Shuang stood up and ordered Hou Jing:

“Go!”

The two stepped out of the house, where Gao Huan’s brother-in-law Wei Jing waited anxiously.

Serving in Huai Shuo Town, their military discipline was certainly sufficient.

To snatch away Liu Liusheng’s son, Liu Chang, without anyone noticing showed the power of these local thugs.

Gao Huan had been poor since childhood, raised entirely by his brother-in-law Wei Jing.

Later, Gao Huan married Lou Zhaojun and rose to prominence; naturally, Wei Jing’s household improved greatly. Yet even with higher living standards, Wei Jing’s mercenary nature remained unchanged.

“Messenger, we’ve done the heavy lifting in kidnapping Liu Chang—you must not break your word!”

Wei Jing was now extremely anxious—fearful and greedy, he kept reminding Li Shuang.

“Relax, I won’t break my word. Everyone who took part in this operation will be arranged for departure after negotiations.”

The three quickly reached the city gate, which was already open.

Gao Huan waited with a dozen men beside a carriage.

On the carriage lay a bound, unconscious man.

Hou Jing stepped forward with a fire-starter, inspected the man, confirmed it was correct, then nodded to Li Shuang.

“Quickly arrange for your families to leave the city—my men will be waiting outside to meet them!”

No sooner had Li Shuang finished speaking than a row of torches suddenly flared to life along the city wall.

Hundreds of cavalry surged from all directions, surrounding Li Shuang and his men.

Liu Que rode forward on horseback, drew near, saw Li Shuang, and laughed:

“If the defender of Ma Yi has come, why leave so soon?”

This scene terrified Wei Jing and the others, their legs trembling—but Gao Huan remained utterly calm.

“He Liuhun, what should we do?”

“Don’t worry—we still have Liu Chang in our hands!”

Hearing this, Wei Jing felt slightly reassured.

Then Gao Huan drew his sword and shouted into the night sky:

“Protect the heir of the Prince of Pingnan! Do not let these villains harm him!”

Gao Huan’s shout stunned everyone—including Wei Jing—then they quickly realized and distanced themselves from Li Shuang.

Li Shuang, who had just moments ago been surrounded by a dozen men, now stood alone with only Hou Jing beside him.

“Hou Jing, why are you looking at me with such a despicable expression?”

“Da Ye Shuang, you’ve messed up! Even though I, Hou Jing, am a man of loyalty, I refuse to be associated with you.”

Saying this, Hou Jing quietly stepped back several paces, aligning himself with Gao Huan and the others.

“You… you all!”

Liu Que laughed loudly:

“Da Ye Shuang, you’re utterly abandoned—take them away!”

Hou Jing had hidden among the Huai Shuo townspeople, but was still dragged out by Liu Que’s men.

“I’m from Huai Shuo too—I’m not allied with Da Ye Shuang!”

But no matter how much Hou Jing shouted, it was useless.

Seeing his men capture Li Shuang and Hou Jing, Liu Que turned to Gao Huan and nodded approvingly.

“He Liuhun, well done. Rest assured, I won’t let you down!”

“Thank you, Great King!”

At Gao Huan’s home.

In the middle of the night, the dog suddenly barked.

Lou Zhaojun, wrapped in a robe, stepped out with attendants and saw Gao Huan, Wei Jing, and a dozen others enter the courtyard, still shaken.

Lou Zhaojun said nothing, only brought hot water for everyone.

After drinking, Wei Jing looked at Gao Huan—he now understood, but was filled with questions.

“He Liuhun, why did you betray Li Shen’s messenger?”

This was what everyone couldn’t understand.

Liu Que would eventually submit to imperial forces anyway!

Now that you’ve betrayed Li Shen’s messenger, what will you do later?

Gao Huan looked at them all, offered no explanation, only said:

“The waters here run deep, Brother-in-law, brothers—trust me, He Liuhun. I would never harm you.”

Hearing this, the others fell silent for a moment, then gradually returned to their homes.

But Gao Huan could not sleep—he stood alone beneath the eaves, gazing at the night.

Lou Zhaojun walked behind him and draped a cloak over his shoulders.

“Zhaojun, I’m sorry—I still didn’t listen to you.”

Lou Zhaojun leaned against his shoulder, her voice gentle:

“My husband has great ambitions. Since you’ve already acted, I will support you from behind.”

Gao Huan smiled. Beneath the moonlight, he pulled out the paper Li Shuang had given him and sighed softly.

“Pity—this paper was simply too small.”

Inside the room, Liu Chang had awakened from his coma and now sat on a chair, looking dejected.

Hou Jing stood beside Liu Que, smiling obsequiously:

“Da Ye Shuang is a treacherous villain—I’ve long resented him. Your Majesty is such a noble man, willing to submit to the court, yet he suspected deceit—what a petty mind he has!”

“I did deceive—but only to lure Li Shen, the Righteous Brother of the Northern Expeditionary Grand Commander, here to extract something. I am loyal to the True King in life and death!”

“Your Majesty is brilliantly wise and fiercely loyal! If Da Ye Shuang had half your wisdom, he wouldn’t be in this predicament today.”

Liu Que looked at Hou Jing and laughed heartily:

“Excellent—I now understand why Da Ye Shuang valued you so. From today, you shall be a military commander under me, leading a thousand troops from Huai Shuo Town.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your promotion!”

After Hou Jing left, Liu Chang rubbed his head and stood up.

“Father, why promote such a smooth-talking sycophant?”

Liu Que looked at his son and smiled at his naivety.

“Gao Huan and Hou Jing are extraordinary men. Without me, you couldn’t handle them. Isn’t tonight the best proof?”

Hearing this, Liu Chang felt resentful.

“Father, if you’d already planned this with Gao Huan, why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve prepared—why did we need to go through all this?”

“Telling you would’ve only caused unnecessary complications.”

Liu Que held no confidence in his son.

“Why did Father capture Da Ye Shuang?”

Liu Que sneered.

“In this northern border, nothing is reliable anymore—only one thing is real!”

“Father means grain?”

“At last, you have some insight. Ten thousand shi of grain and thirty thousand cattle and sheep have arrived in Shuozhou. Only by seizing them can we gain sufficient leverage.”

“But if we offend Li Shen, how will we negotiate later?”

“There’s a Grand Commander in Yunzhong City—but over in Tongwancheng, there’s also the Prince of Guangyang. What’s the hurry?”

The Hulü tribe.

Hu Lu Jin waited anxiously until Yu Jin’s figure appeared before him.

“Staff Officer, how did it go?”

“News came from Huai Shuo—the fish has taken the bait!”

…